Dive Into Python

Example 17.8. plural3.py

import re

rules = \
  (
    (
     lambda word: re.search('[sxz]$', word),
     lambda word: re.sub('$', 'es', word)
    ),
    (
     lambda word: re.search('[^aeioudgkprt]h$', word),
     lambda word: re.sub('$', 'es', word)
    ),
    (
     lambda word: re.search('[^aeiou]y$', word),
     lambda word: re.sub('y$', 'ies', word)
    ),
    (
     lambda word: re.search('$', word),
     lambda word: re.sub('$', 's', word)
    )
   )                                           

def plural(noun):                             
    for matchesRule, applyRule in rules:       
        if matchesRule(noun):                 
            return applyRule(noun)            

This is the same set of rules as you defined in stage 2. The only difference is that instead of defining named functions like match_sxz and apply_sxz, you have “inlined” those function definitions directly into the rules list itself, using lambda functions.

Note that the plural function hasn't changed at all. It iterates through a set of rule functions, checks the first rule, and if it returns a true value, calls the second rule and returns the value. Same as above, word for word. The only difference is that the rule functions were defined inline, anonymously, using lambda functions. But the plural function doesn't care how they were defined; it just gets a list of rules and blindly works through them.