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GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual

12.2 Lambda Expressions

A function written in Lisp is a list that looks like this:

(lambda (arg-variables...) [documentation-string] [interactive-declaration] body-forms...)

Such a list is called a lambda expression. In Emacs Lisp, it actually is valid as an expression--it evaluates to itself. In some other Lisp dialects, a lambda expression is not a valid expression at all. In either case, its main use is not to be evaluated as an expression, but to be called as a function.

12.2.1 Components of a Lambda Expression		The parts of a lambda expression.
12.2.2 A Simple Lambda-Expression Example		A simple example.
12.2.3 Other Features of Argument Lists		Details and special features of argument lists.
12.2.4 Documentation Strings of Functions		How to put documentation in a function.