Sybren Stuvel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > No, it is not merely a shortcut. It often allows one to avoid > > polluting the namespace with a completely superfluous function name, > > thus reducing code smell. > > Which can also be done by using inner functions.
Inner functions with no names? > > It can also avoid a multi-line function defintion which often pushes > > other relevant code off the current page and out of view, and thus > > lambda can increase program readability. > def somefunc(x): return x*5 > How is that a multi-line function definition? def mult_by_five(): def somefunc(x): return x*5 return somefunc is multi-line, as opposed to: def mult_by_five(): return lambda x: x*5 -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list