How is returning the output of a function different from printing it?

Question

In my previous question, Andrew Jaffe writes:

In addition to all of the other hints and tips, I think you\'re missing something crucial: your functio

Answer 1

you just add a return statement...

def autoparts():
  parts_dict={}
  list_of_parts = open('list_of_parts.txt', 'r')
  for line in list_of_parts:
        k, v = line.split()
        parts_dict[k] = v
  return parts_dict

printing out only prints out to the standard output (screen) of the application. You can also return multiple things by separating them with commas:

return parts_dict, list_of_parts

to use it:

test_dict = {}
test_dict = autoparts()