Lambda functions are small, anonymous functions defined using the lambda keyword. They are often used for short, one-time operations.
lambda arguments: expression
Lambda functions take any number of arguments, but they have only one expression. The result of the expression is returned implicitly.
add = lambda x, y: x + y
result = add(5, 3)
print(result) # Output: 8
square = lambda x: x * x
print(square(4)) # Output: 16
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
squared_numbers = list(map(lambda x: x * x, numbers))
print(squared_numbers) # Output: [1, 4, 9, 16, 25]
Explanation: `map()` applies the lambda function to each item in the list.
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
even_numbers = list(filter(lambda x: x % 2 == 0, numbers))
print(even_numbers) # Output: [2, 4, 6, 8, 10]
Explanation: `filter()` selects items in the list where the lambda function evaluates to `True`.
data = [(1, 'Shaista'), (3, 'Noorain'), (2, 'Arshiya')]
sorted_data = sorted(data, key=lambda x: x[0])
print(sorted_data) # Output: [(1, 'Shaista'), (2, 'Arshiya'), (3, 'Noorain')]
Explanation: `sorted()` uses a lambda function as the `key` to specify how to sort the list of tuples.
string = "hello AIT"
capitalize = lambda s: s.capitalize()
print(capitalize(string))
Explanation: This shows how to perform a simple string operation.
Lambda functions are concise and powerful, especially when used with higher-order functions like `map()` and `filter()`. However, they are best suited for simple operations. For more complex logic, a regular function is usually preferred for better readability.