Skip to main content

Lambda Functions in Python

 


Learning Sections          show

Lambda Functions in Python

Lambda functions, also known as anonymous functions, are small, unnamed functions defined with the lambda keyword. They can have any number of arguments but only one expression. Lambda functions are often used for short, throwaway functions that are not needed elsewhere in the code.

1. Basic Syntax

The syntax for a lambda function is:


lambda arguments: expression

Example:


add = lambda x, y: x + y
print(add(2, 3))  # Output: 5

2. Using Lambda with Built-in Functions

Lambda functions are commonly used with built-in functions like map(), filter(), and sorted().

Example with map():


numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
squared = map(lambda x: x**2, numbers)
print(list(squared))  # Output: [1, 4, 9, 16, 25]

Example with filter():


numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
even = filter(lambda x: x % 2 == 0, numbers)
print(list(even))  # Output: [2, 4]

Example with sorted():


points = [(2, 3), (1, 2), (4, 1), (3, 4)]
sorted_points = sorted(points, key=lambda point: point[1])
print(sorted_points)  # Output: [(4, 1), (1, 2), (2, 3), (3, 4)]

3. Lambda Functions as Arguments

Lambda functions are often passed as arguments to other functions that take functions as parameters.

Example:


def apply_function(func, value):
    return func(value)

result = apply_function(lambda x: x**2, 5)
print(result)  # Output: 25
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Generators in Python

  Learning Sections          show Generators in Python Generators are a special type of iterator in Python that allow you to iterate over a sequence of items without storing them all in memory at once. They are useful for generating large sequences of data on-the-fly, or for processing data in a memory-efficient manner. Creating Generators In Python, generators are created using generator functions or generator expressions: # Generator function def my_generator ( n ): for i in range ( n ): yield i # Generator expression my_generator = ( i for i in range ( 10 )) A generator function uses the yield keyword to yield values one at a time, while a generator expression creates an anonymous generator. Iterating Over Generators You can iterate over the values produced by a generator using a for loop: for value in my_generator ( 5 ): print ( value ) This w...
Read more

Walrus Operator in Python

  Learning Sections          show Walrus Operator in Python The walrus operator ( := ) is a new assignment operator introduced in Python 3.8. It allows you to assign values to variables as part of an expression, making certain constructs more concise. Basic Usage The basic syntax for the walrus operator is: variable_name := expression Here, variable_name is assigned the value of expression , and the result of the expression is also returned. Example: Simplifying Code Consider the following example where we find and print the length of a list if it's greater than 3: # Without walrus operator my_list = [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ] if len ( my_list ) > 3 : length = len ( my_list ) print ( length ) # With walrus operator my_list = [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ] if ( length := len ( my_list )) > 3 : print ( length ) In the second example, the walrus operator assigns the result of len(my...
Read more

Inheritance in Python

  Learning Sections          show Inheritance in Python Inheritance is a fundamental concept in object-oriented programming (OOP) that allows a class to inherit attributes and methods from another class. The class that inherits is called the child class or subclass, and the class being inherited from is called the parent class or superclass. Basic Inheritance In Python, a child class inherits from a parent class by specifying the parent class in parentheses after the child class name. Example: class Animal : def __init__ ( self , name ): self . name = name def speak ( self ): raise NotImplementedError ( "Subclass must implement this method" ) class Dog ( Animal ): def speak ( self ): return "Woof!" class Cat ( Animal ): def speak ( self ): return "Meow!" # Create instances of Dog and Cat dog = Dog ( "Buddy" ) cat = Cat ( "Whiskers" ...
Read more