Python sum() Function

#Use the sum function

print(sum([1, 2, 3]))

The sum() function is used to get the sum of the items in a given iterable such as list, tuples, sets e.tc. It takes one required positional argument i.e the iterable , and an optional argument, start,  which specifies the initial value, or the start value, for the sum.

Syntax:

sum(iterable, start = 0)

start defaults to 0 if not provided. If the iterable contains no items, it returns start. 

The function iterates through the given iterable, and adds the value of  each item to the total sum.

Example:

sum([])
//0
sum([1, 2, 3, 4])
//10
sum((10, 20, 30, 40))
//100
sum([], 10)
//10
sum({10, 20, 30, 40}, 100)
//200
sum((0.5, 0.7, 0.3), 1.5)
//3.0

The function only works when the iterable contains numerical data i.e integers, floats and complex.

sum(['hello', 'world!'])
//TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for +: 'int' and 'str'
sum(['hello', 'world!'], '')
//TypeError: sum() can't sum strings [use ''.join(seq) instead]