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Function

  • Function[ body ] or body & is a pure function. The formal parameters are # (or #1), #2, etc.
  • Function[ x , body ] is a pure function with a single formal parameter x.
  • Function[ , , ... , body ] is a pure function with a list of formal parameters.
  • Example: (# + 1)&[x].
  • Map[(# + 1)&, x, y, z ].
  • When Function[ body ] or body & is applied to a set of arguments, # (or #1) is replaced by the first argument, #2 by the second, and so on. #0 is replaced by the function itself.
  • If there are more arguments supplied than # i in the function, the remaining arguments are ignored.
  • ## stands for the sequence of all arguments supplied.
  • ## n stands for arguments from number n on.
  • f[##, ##2]& [x, y, z].
  • Function is analogous to in LISP or formal logic.
  • Function has attribute HoldAll. The function body is evaluated only after the formal parameters have been replaced by arguments.
  • The named formal parameters in Function[ , ... , body ] are treated as local, and are renamed $ when necessary to avoid confusion with actual arguments supplied to the function.
  • Function is treated as a scoping construct (see Section A.3.8).
  • Function[ params , body , , , ... ] represents a pure function that is to be treated as having attributes for the purpose of evaluation.
  • See the Mathematica book: Section 2.2.5.
  • See also: Apply, CompiledFunction.

    Further Examples

    Here is a pure function that squares its argument.

    In[1]:=

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    You can pass an argument to pure functions just as if they were ordinary functions like Sin or Min.

    In[2]:=

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    In[3]:=

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    These use the shorthand notation for a pure function.

    In[4]:=

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    If your function needs several parameters, you specify them explicitly.

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