Is this a good use for lambda

[Walter S. Leipold]

Steven Bethard wrote:
> Charlie Taylor wrote:
>>I have tried using named functions instead of using lambda functions,
>>however, I always end up with a convoluted, hard to follow mess.
> ...
> Well, I think the jury could still be out on which version is more
> readable, but I don't understand the comment "I have tried using 
> named functions instead of using lambda functions, however, I 
> always end up with a convoluted, hard to follow mess."  If you 
> know that:
> 
> <name> = lambda *args, **kwds: <expr>
> 
> is eqivalent to:
> 
> def <name>(*args, **kwds):
>      return <expr>
> 
> then it's quite straightforward to translate from one to the other.

I think that Charlie's point is that, when you use "def <name>", you have
<name> polluting your namespace.  The whole program becomes harder to
understand because you can't ignore <name> anywhere, even if it was only
ever intended to be used in one place.  It's a good point, and reasonable
people can disagree about whether the namespace pollution or the
unreadability of lambda is a bigger problem.  

I've used lambda from time to time, but only socially, and I can quit any
time I want...

-- Walt