[Python-3000] lambda

[Olivier Verdier]

There is a dislike of the lambda construction that I just don't understand.
Lambda is very practical in all sorts of situations, like: lambda x,y: x+y.
I just find the name plain silly, that's all. Perhaps you think that all
python programmers or beginners have a LISP background, but that's just not
the case. For me and my mathematician colleagues, lambda is just a letter of
the greek language. Imagine you see something like that in a code:

omicron x, y: x+y

What would you think this means?? As Paul suggests, "fn" would be better.
Anything that suggests "definition" or "function" would work.

Python has a very clear syntax and is increasingly used instead of
pseudo-code in text books. Some of you seem not to be aware of the clarity
of the language. List comprehensions, and strings are all very clear for
beginners (the name "string" is not needed to understand: x = "message").
Reading a python code is a pleasure, *even for one not versed in python*.
This is a crucial advantage of the language. "lambda" is not as clear as the
rest of the language. I hope you understand my point.

I thought that the upcoming of python 3000 would be a good opportunity to
change this name but since few or no python beginners or newcommers are
reading this mailing list I don't think that I will get a lot of support
here. :-)

Thanks for reading my ramblings anyway.

== Olivier
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