question about what lamda does

[Iain King]

Steve Holden wrote:
> tac-tics wrote:
> > nephish at xit.net wrote:
> >
> >>Hey there,
> >>i have been learning python for the past few months, but i can seem to
> >>get what exactly a lamda is for. What would i use a lamda for that i
> >>could not or would not use a def for ? Is there a notable difference ?
> >>I only ask because i see it in code samples on the internet and in
> >>books.
> >
> >
> > Lambda is just as powerful as a function, but totally useless =-P
> >
> > Lambda used to be handy before the introduction of list comprehensions.
> > Now, though, there primary use is obfuscating your code.
> >
> I do wish you could hold yourself back and stop muddying the waters.
> Lambdas and list comprehensions have little or nothing to do with each
> other. Unless you know something I don't ...
>

I think he meant that lambda's main use before was inside map and
filter;  as stated earlier in the thread, lambda's main use was for
passing simple functions as arguments, and of these map and filter must
have made up a majority (and then I'd guess TKinter would be next).
List comprehensions replace map and filter, so...

I wouldn't put it as explosively as he has, but I find a lambda less
clear than a def too.

Iain


> regards
>   Steve



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