Using dicts and lists as default arguments of functions

[Johan]

Dear all,

Considering this test program:

def tst(a={}):
    print 1, a
    a['1'] = 1
    print 2, a
    del a

def tstb(a=[]):
    print 1, a
    a.append(1)
    print 2, a
    del a


tst()
tst()

tstb()
tstb()


With output:

tnjx at tnjx:~/tst> python tt.py
1 {}
2 {'1': 1}
1 {'1': 1}
2 {'1': 1}
1 []
2 [1]
1 [1]
2 [1, 1]


Would there be a way to ensure that the results does not depend on the
previous call of the function. The desired output is:

1 {}
2 {'1': 1}
1 {}
2 {'1': 1}
1 []
2 [1]
1 []
2 [1]

I know that tst({}) and tstb([]) will work, but is there any way to
still use tst(), tstb()?

Thanks in advance,

Best regards,

Johan