Avoid common Python default parameter gotcha when mutable dict/list:s are used as default parameter values.
Examples of this gotcha caught during review:
Perhaps surprisingly this is how mutable list and dictionary default parameter values behave in Python:
>>> def f(i, j=[], k={}):
... j.append(i)
... k[i] = True
... return j, k
...
>>> f(1)
([1], {1: True})
>>> f(1)
([1, 1], {1: True})
>>> f(2)
([1, 1, 2], {1: True, 2: True})
In contrast to:
>>> def f(i, j=None, k=None):
... if j is None:
... j = []
... if k is None:
... k = {}
... j.append(i)
... k[i] = True
... return j, k
...
>>> f(1)
([1], {1: True})
>>> f(1)
([1], {1: True})
>>> f(2)
([2], {2: True})
The latter is typically the intended behaviour.
This PR fixes two instances of this and adds a check guarding against this gotcha going forward :-)
