[Tutor] Named function in a single line

[Cameron Simpson]

On 10Sep2020 23:04, Manprit Singh <manpritsinghece at gmail.com> wrote:
>I have seen at so many places that smaller named functions are written 
>in a
>single line . For example ;
>
>def multiply(a, b):     # a function definition for multiplication of 2
>numbers
>    return a * b
>
>The function definitions which are very small , normally which contain
>only  a single line statement, like that one given above ,  are being found
>written in a single line  at so many places . If I write the function given
>above in a single line , it would be written like this :
>
>def multiply(a, b) : return a * b
>
>PEP 8 allows us to write such small functions in a single line ?

In addition to the other comments, let me sidestep PEP 8 and point you 
to a specific part of the Zen. Like the Pirate Code, it is more of a 
guideline.

Run the command "import this" in the interactive interpreter:

    >>> import this
    The Zen of Python, by Tim Peters

    Beautiful is better than ugly.
    Explicit is better than implicit.
    Simple is better than complex.
    Complex is better than complicated.
    Flat is better than nested.
    Sparse is better than dense.
    Readability counts.
    Special cases aren't special enough to break the rules.
    Although practicality beats purity.
    Errors should never pass silently.
    Unless explicitly silenced.
    In the face of ambiguity, refuse the temptation to guess.
    There should be one-- and preferably only one --obvious way to do it.
    Although that way may not be obvious at first unless you're Dutch.
    Now is better than never.
    Although never is often better than *right* now.
    If the implementation is hard to explain, it's a bad idea.
    If the implementation is easy to explain, it may be a good idea.
    Namespaces are one honking great idea -- let's do more of those!

In particular, "Readability counts."

When we write code, it almost always requires maintenance. Sometimes 
that is bugfixes, sometimes that is changes for new circumstances.  
Regardless, the more readable the code, the easier such maintenance is.

The purpose of PEP 8 is to mandate style rules for the standard library 
which ships with Python. The objective is readable, maintainable code.  
The PEP is to provide some concrete specific practices which give (a) 
consistent looking code and (b) generally readable code. It is required 
for new code for the standard library, and is also a reasonable starting 
point for code style in other projects.

But remember the objective: to make code easy to work with.

Cheers,
Cameron Simpson <cs at cskk.id.au>