Caution: using empty lists as default arguments may cause unintended side effects!

[osmart]

In Python using an empty list as a default argument to a function or method is a mistake.
For a great explanation of why please see https://nikos7am.com/posts/mutable-default-arguments/

pdbecif uses empty lists as default arguments extensively for instance

pdbecif/src/pdbecif/mmcif_tools.py

Lines 82 to 88 in cd5319b

	def parse(
	self,
	file_path,
	ignoreCategories=[],
	preserve_token_order=False,
	onlyCategories=[],
	):

If ignoreCategories or onlyCategories are used then they may well be reused on subsequent calls.

[osmart]

Is worth fixing this?