[Python-Dev] Re: "groupby" iterator

[Guido van Rossum]

> I think this is the key thing here. Lambda in its full form is very
> flexible and wide ranging - but 90% of the time, this flexibility
> isn't needed. And everything pays a cost for that flexibility, even
> when it's not used.
> 
> Something that did that 90%, fast and efficiently, while leaving
> lambda for the few remaining cases where its flexibility is needed
> (possibly with an intent to deprecate it in the future) would probably
> be the best option.

For the remaining 10%, you could just use 'def' if lambda didn't exist
at all.

--Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)