What a lambda is

Question

What a lambda is

Accepted Answer

lambda arguments: expression creates a small unnamed function on the spot. The body must be a single expression - no statements, no return keyword. Lambdas shine as throwaway callbacks: sorted(items, key=lambda x: x[1]) is cleaner than defining a separate named function. If the logic is more than a line, use a named def instead - readability matters more than brevity.