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The names "lambda abstraction", "lambda function", and "lambda expression" refer to the notation of function abstraction in lambda calculus, where the usual function f (x) = M would be written (λx. M), and where M is an expression that uses x. Compare to the Python syntax of lambda x: M.
The free variables in the sub expression are the parameters to the function call. Lambda lifts may be used on individual functions, in code refactoring, to make a function usable outside the scope in which it was written. Such lifts may also be repeated, until the expression has no lambda abstractions, in order to transform the program.
This creates a higher-order function, and passing this higher function itself allows anonymous recursion within the actual recursive function. This can be done purely anonymously by applying a fixed-point combinator to this higher order function. This is mainly of academic interest, particularly to show that the lambda calculus has recursion ...
In this example, the lambda expression (lambda (book) (>= (book-sales book) threshold)) appears within the function best-selling-books. When the lambda expression is evaluated, Scheme creates a closure consisting of the code for the lambda expression and a reference to the threshold variable, which is a free variable inside the lambda expression.
A typed lambda calculus is a typed formalism that uses the lambda-symbol to denote anonymous function abstraction.In this context, types are usually objects of a syntactic nature that are assigned to lambda terms; the exact nature of a type depends on the calculus considered (see kinds below).
In calculus, an example of a higher-order function is the differential operator /, which returns the derivative of a function . Higher-order functions are closely related to first-class functions in that higher-order functions and first-class functions both allow functions as arguments and results of other functions.
For example ((call/cc f) e2) is equivalent to applying f to the current continuation of the expression. The current continuation is given by replacing (call/cc f) by a variable c bound by a lambda abstraction, so the current continuation is (lambda (c) (c e2)). Applying the function f to it gives the final result (f (lambda (c) (c e2))).
C++11 allowed lambda functions to deduce the return type based on the type of the expression given to the return statement. C++14 provides this ability to all functions. It also extends these facilities to lambda functions, allowing return type deduction for functions that are not of the form return expression;.