functional programming - Can you explain closures (as they relate to Python)?

Question

I've been reading a lot about closures and I think I understand them, but without clouding the picture for myself and others, I am hoping someone can explain closures as succinctly and clearly as possible. I'm looking for a simple explanation that might help me understand where and why I would want to use them.

Answer 1

Closure on closures

Objects are data with methods attached, closures are functions with data attached.

def make_counter():
    i = 0
    def counter(): # counter() is a closure
        nonlocal i
        i += 1
        return i
    return counter

c1 = make_counter()
c2 = make_counter()

print (c1(), c1(), c2(), c2())
# -> 1 2 1 2