dangerous-default-value / W0102

Message emitted:

Dangerous default value %s as argument

Description:

Used when a mutable value as list or dictionary is detected in a default value for an argument.

Problematic code:

def whats_on_the_telly(penguin=[]):  # [dangerous-default-value]
    penguin.append("property of the zoo")
    return penguin

Correct code:

def whats_on_the_telly(penguin=None):
    if penguin is None:
        penguin = []
    penguin.append("property of the zoo")
    return penguin

Additional details:

With a mutable default value, with each call the default value is modified, i.e.:

whats_on_the_telly() # ["property of the zoo"]
whats_on_the_telly() # ["property of the zoo", "property of the zoo"]
whats_on_the_telly() # ["property of the zoo", "property of the zoo", "property of the zoo"]

Created by the basic checker.