What is a Lambda in Coding?

Steilla Mitchel 1175 17 Aug 2023

1 Answers

Aryan Kumar 18 Aug 2023

A lambda expression (also called an anonymous function) is a short, inline function that can be used where a regular function is expected. Lambda expressions are often used to simplify code and make it more concise.

In Python, lambda expressions are defined using the lambda keyword. The syntax for a lambda expression is as follows:

Python

lambda arguments: expression

arguments: The arguments to the function.
expression: The expression that is evaluated and returned by the function.

The following is an example of a lambda expression that adds two numbers:

Python

add_two_numbers = lambda x, y: x + y

print(add_two_numbers(10, 20))

In this code, the add_two_numbers lambda expression takes two numbers as its arguments and returns the sum of the two numbers. The print() function prints the result of the add_two_numbers lambda expression.

Lambda expressions can be used in a variety of places in Python, including:

As the argument to a function: Lambda expressions can be used as the argument to a function. For example, the following code uses a lambda expression as the argument to the sorted() function to sort a list of numbers in ascending order:

Python

numbers = [10, 5, 20]

sorted_numbers = sorted(numbers, key=lambda number: number)

print(sorted_numbers)

As a value: Lambda expressions can be used as a value. For example, the following code defines a variable that stores a lambda expression that adds two numbers:

Python

add_two_numbers = lambda x, y: x + y

print(add_two_numbers(10, 20))

In comprehensions: Lambda expressions can be used in comprehensions. For example, the following code creates a list of the squares of the numbers from 1 to 10:

Python

squares = [x ** 2 for x in range(1, 11)]

print(squares)

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What is a Lambda in Coding?

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