Which of the following statements about functional-style programming is false?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The prompt asks us to evaluate statements about functional-style programming, but only one answer option is provided, and there are no additional choices to compare. Here is the analysis of the given statement:

Option: "All reductions are built into Python—you cannot define custom reductions."

Initial impression: This claim is clearly questionable. In functional-style programming, reductions typically refer to operations that combine a collection into a single value (like sum, product, or a fold). In Python, while there are built-in reductions such as sum(), max(), min(), and the functools.reduce function, the language also supports defining custom reduction logic by passing a user-defined function to reduce or by implementing custom iteration logic.

Why this statement is false:
- Python provides functools.reduce, which allows you to apply a binary function cumulatively to the items of a sequence, thereby defining custom reduction behavior. This already shows that reductions are not all built-in and fixed; you can customize them.
- You can define your own reduction function and then use it with reduce, or write explicit loops that implement a reduction pattern with any associativity you need. The presence of built-ins does not preclude custom reductions.
- The broader idea of functional-style programming emphasizes first-class functions, higher-order functions, and abstractions like map, filter, and reduce. Python supports these patterns through user-defined functions and combinators, reinforcing that reductions can be customized.

Why someone might think this statement is true and where the confusion comes from:
- It might be tempting to think that a language ships with a fixed set of reduction operations and no extension points. However, most practical languages provide ways to generalize or compose operations, even if some reductions are built-in as conveniences.
- The phrasing ignores the common practice of composing reductions with custom logic, such as reducing a list of objects by a particular attribute, or using a custom accumulator state.

Summary: The option claims there are no custom reductions in Python, which contradicts how functional-style patterns are implemented in practice. The reality is that Python supports custom reductions via user-defined functions used with reduce or through explicit iteration constructs, in addition to its built-in reductions. Therefore, this statement is false.

CIS-502-OLH-CRN47621 Optional Practice Exam 1

Which of the following statements about functional-style programming is false?

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