Assigning a function to a variable

Question

Let\'s say I have a function

def x():
    print(20)

Now I want to assign the function to a variable called y, so that if I us

Answer 1

The syntax

def x():
    print(20)

is basically the same as x = lambda: print(20) (there are some differences under the hood, but for most pratical purposes, the results the same).

The syntax

def y(t):
   return t**2

is basically the same as y= lambda t: t**2. When you define a function, you're creating a variable that has the function as its value. In the first example, you're setting x to be the function lambda: print(20). So x now refers to that function. x() is not the function, it's the call of the function. In python, functions are simply a type of variable, and can generally be used like any other variable. For example:

def power_function(power):
      return  lambda x : x**power
power_function(3)(2)

This returns 8. power_function is a function that returns a function as output. When it's called on 3, it returns a function that cubes the input, so when that function is called on the input 2, it returns 8. You could do cube = power_function(3), and now cube(2) would return 8.