Overloaded functions in Python

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EDIT For the new single dispatch generic functions in Python 3.4, see http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0443/

You generally don’t need to overload functions in Python. Python is dynamically typed, and supports optional arguments to functions.

def myfunction(first, second, third = None):
    if third is None:
        #just use first and second
    else:
        #use all three

myfunction(1, 2) # third will be None, so enter the 'if' clause
myfunction(3, 4, 5) # third isn't None, it's 5, so enter the 'else' clause

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