The map() function:

The map() function in Python is used to apply a function to every item in an iterable—like a list or a tuple—and returns a new map object with the results.

Syntax:

map(function, iterable)

• function: This is the function you want to apply to each item.
• iterable: This is the list, tuple, or any other iterable whose items you want to process.

Basic Example:

Imagine we want to square every number in a list.

Without map():

numbers = [1, 2, 3]
squared = []

for num in numbers:
  square = num ** 2
  squared.append(square)

print(squared)

[1, 4, 9]

Without map():

squared = map(lambda num: num ** 2, numbers)
print(list(squared))

[1, 4, 9]

The map

a = [1, 2, 3]
b = [4, 5, 6]

summs = []

for count in range(len(a)):
  summs.append(a[count] + b[count])

print(summs)

[5, 7, 9]

summs = map(lambda x, y: x + y, a, b)
print(list(summs))

[5, 7, 9]

def add(x, y):
  return x + y

summs = map(add, a, b)
print(list(summs))

[5, 7, 9]