What does that asterisk in line 1 mean?

Question

def foo(a, *b):
return a * b
c = foo(1 ,2 ,3)
print(c)

Other than the question mention on the title, I would also like to know why the output is (2, 3) instead of 6?

Answer 1

The asterisk means that it will take the remaining items (if any+) in the iterable and save them in b.

In the example above, input is (1,2,3), thus:
a = 1
b = (2,3)

1*(2,3) = (2,3)

Output: (2,3)

I wish you success!