Python Frequently Asked Questions, Release 3.9.5 (continued from previous page) Chapter 2. Programming FAQ 18 >>> a =0xa5 >>> a 165 >>> b =0XB2 >>> b 178 >>> a =0o10 >>> a 8 2.3 Numbers and strings 2.3.1 How do I specify hexadecimal and octal integers? 2.2.18 What does the slash(/) in the parameter list of a function mean? Don’t try this at home, kids! # | |_________________ range on y axis # |____________________________ range on x axis A slash in the argument list of a function denotes that the parameters prior to it are positional-only. Positional-only parameters are the ones without an externally-usable name. Upon calling a function that accepts positional-only parameters, arguments are mapped to parameters based solely on their position. For example, divmod() is a function that accepts positional-only parameters. Its documentation looks like this: The slash at the end of the parameter list means that both parameters are positional-only. Thus, calling divmod() with keyword arguments would lead to an error: To specify an octal digit, precede the octal value with a zero, and then a lower or uppercase “o”. For example, to set the variable “a” to the octal value “10” (8 in decimal), type: Hexadecimal is just as easy. Simply precede the hexadecimal number with a zero, and then a lower or uppercase “x”. Hexadecimal digits can be specified in lower or uppercase. For example, in the Python interpreter: >>> divmod(x=3, y=4) Traceback (most recent call last): File "<stdin>" , line1, in <module> TypeError: divmod() takes no keyword arguments >>> help(divmod) Help on built-in function divmod in module builtins: divmod(x, y, /) Return the tuple (x//y, x%y). Invariant: div*y + mod == x.