Why does this code print "d, d, d, d", and not "a, b, c, d"? How can I modify it to print "a, b, c, d"?
cons = []
for i in ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd']:
cons.append(lambda: i)
print ', '.join([fn() for fn in cons])
-
1stackoverflow.com/questions/760688/…NPE– NPE2013-02-06 21:11:58 +00:00Commented Feb 6, 2013 at 21:11
-
2I'm not sure that's an exact duplicate, actually--this isn't asking how to change the behavior, it's asking why the behavior is that way in the first place.Kyle Strand– Kyle Strand2013-02-06 21:17:36 +00:00Commented Feb 6, 2013 at 21:17
-
I agree with Kyle, for what it's worth, and attempted to answer in that vein.jimwise– jimwise2013-02-06 21:18:39 +00:00Commented Feb 6, 2013 at 21:18
Add a comment
|
4 Answers
Oddly enough, this is not a variable scope problem, but a quesiton of the semantics of python's for loop (and of python's variables).
As you expect, i inside your lambda correctly refers to the variable i in the nearest enclosing scope. So far, so good.
However, you are expecting this to mean the following happens:
for each value in the list ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd']:
instantiate a new variable, i, pointing to the current list member
instantiate a new anonymous function, which returns i
append this function to cons
What actually happens is this:
instantiate a new variable i
for each value in the list ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd']:
make i refer to the current list member
instantiate a new anonymous function, which returns i
append this function to cons
Thus, your code is appending the same variable i to the list four times -- and by the time the loop exits, i has a value of 'd'.
Note that if python functions took and returned the value of their arguments / return values by value, you would not notice this, as the contents of i would be copied on each call to append (or, for that matter, on each return from the anonymous function created with lambda). In actuality, however, python variables are always references to a particular object-- and thus your four copies of i all refer to 'd' by then end of your loop.
1 Comment
Kyle Strand
You can verify this by printing
i after exiting the loop. You can also verify that all four lambda functions are technically different functions by printing cons and comparing the ID's.When you create a closure, the variables that are "closed over" by your lambdas (in this case, i) are bound by name, not value. Therefore, whenever you call your lambdas, they'll use the last value of 'i'.
Comments
Here's the simple fix you need to make that work:
cons = []
for i in ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd']:
cons.append(lambda i=i: i)
print ', '.join([fn() for fn in cons])
Comments
'Erics' answer as a comprehension :
cons =[lambda i= i:i for i in ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd']]
print ', '.join([fn() for fn in cons])
