On Mon, Nov 18, 2019, at 13:00, Andrew Barnert via Python-ideas wrote:
def f(a, b): return a**(b+1) g = partial(f, b==2) h = lambda x: f(x, 2)
Python can’t tell the difference between f, g, and h; they’re all variables. An IDE could keep track of the fact that f was bound by a def statement, and g and h by assignment. But I’m not sure why you’d want it to. After all, they’re all variables with callable values. Why should f(2,3) be colored differently from g(4)?
I think, more or less, "a function" can be regarded as "a *constant* whose value is callable and is not type-like" [where type-like includes types, abstract base classes, and type hint objects], regardless of how it was obtained. Opinions may differ on whether "real variables" [either locals, or globals whose values actually do vary] and/or parameters of callable types (or type-like types) should or should not be highlighted the same way as a typical non-callable variable. Highlighting these would in any case require an editor with a deep understanding of the language (far beyond the typical regex-based syntax highlighters) and probably type annotated code, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be useful.