Python syntax and semantics A snippet of Python code demonstrating binary search The syntax of the Python programming language is the set of rules that defines how a Python program will be written and interpreted (by both the runtime system and by human readers). The Python language has many similarities to Perl, C, and Java. [4] First-class functions are a necessity for the functional programming style, in which the use of higher-order functions is a standard practice. A simple example of a higher-ordered function is the map function, which takes, as its arguments, a function and a list, and returns the list formed by applying the function to each member of the list. The term closure is often used as a synonym for anonymous function, though strictly, an anonymous function is a function literal without a name, while a closure is an instance of a function, a value, whose non-local variables have been bound either to values or storage locations (depending on the language; see the lexical environment section below). For example, in the following Python code: The names "lambda abstraction", "lambda function", and "lambda expression" refer to the notation of function abstraction in lambda calculus, where the usual function f(x) = M would be written (λx.M), and where M is an expression that uses x. Compare to the Python syntax of lambda x: M. The name "arrow function" refers to the mathematical "maps to" symbol, x ↦ M. Compare to the JavaScript Examples Nested functions In the Python 3 example that follows there is a nested function inner defined in the scope of another function outer. The variable x is local to outer, but non-local to inner (nor is it global): The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Python: Python is a general-purpose, interpreted, object-oriented, multi-paradigm, and dynamically typed programming language known for its readable syntax and broad standard library. Python was created by Guido van Rossum and first

released in 1991. Clamp (function) In computer science, clamping, or clipping is the process of limiting a value to a range between a minimum and a maximum value. Unlike wrapping, clamping merely moves the point to the nearest available value. In Python, clamping can be defined as follows: For example, a programmer may write a function in source code that is compiled to machine code that implements similar semantics. There is a callable unit in the source code and an associated one in the machine code, but they are different kinds of callable units – with different implications and features. Examples The simplest example of a factory is a simple factory function, which just invokes a constructor and returns the result. In Python, a factory function f that instantiates a class A can be implemented as: Examples of anonymous functions In computer programming, an anonymous function (function literal, expression or block) is a function definition that is not bound to an identifier.