Anonymous functions and closures (PHP 5.3)

For those interested in PHP 5.3, here's an interesting article (part of a series) on anonymous functions:

http://www.recessframework.org/page/functional-php-anonymous-functions-lambdas-closures

   <?php  
   $lambda = function() {   
               echo "I am an anonymous function,   
                     aka a lambda!<br />";  
               };  
   $anonymousFunction = $lambda;  
   $anonymousFunction();   
   // Output: I am an anonymous function, aka a lambda!  
     
   function nCallsTo($n, $function) {  
       for($i = 0; $i < $n; $i++) {  
           $function();  
       }  
       return function() { echo "I am also an anonymous function!<br />"; };  
   }  
     
   $anotherAnon = nCallsTo(3, $anonymousFunction);  
   // Output:  
   // I am an anonymous function, aka a lambda!  
   // I am an anonymous function, aka a lambda!  
   // I am an anonymous function, aka a lambda!  
     
   $anotherAnon();  
   // Output: I am also an anonymous function!  
   ?>  

PHP:

 

Did you use this feature in your job?

 

lol, very interesting but honestly I dont see the utility of anonymous functions

 

I'm not using the functionality of PHP 5.3 at the moment because I need compatability for older versions of PHP, however, it's always good to keep up to date on the latest happenings.