function vs method

[DeaD_EyE]

Functions don't keep the state from the last call.
If you call them, the function itself has no information about the call before.


Special case of functions.

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Generators and Closures are a special case of functions.
You iterate generators and they keep information between the iterations.
A Closure is a function in a function. The inner function has access to the outer function.
Closures are often used as a decorator for functions. I think for the beginning this goes to far.

Methods are also functions, but the instance of the class can memorize the state.
The method can access to the current state.

It's often the case, that you start with plain functions and later you recognize, that some of the used functions need access to variables in other functions. Then you refactor your code and put those functions in a class. Then you can share across the methods the needed variables (right term is: names, which refer to objects). This happens for example if you work with tkinter (integrated GUI Framework). Many examples do not use classes together with tkinter, but if the program get more complex, classes will help.