Function references

Sometimes, functions that we want to pass as an argument are already defined as a separate function. Then we can just define the lambda with its call:

    fun isOdd(i: Int) = i % 2 == 1 
 
    list.filter { isOdd(it) } 

But Kotlin also allows us to pass a function as a value. To be able to use a top-level function as a value, we need to use a function reference, which is used as a double colon and the function name (::functionName). Here is an example of how it can be used to provide a predicate to filter:

    list.filter(::isOdd) 

Here is an example:

    fun greet(){ 
        print("Hello! ") 
    } 
 
    fun salute(){ 
        print("Have a nice day ") 
    } 
 
    val todoList: List<() -> Unit> = listOf(::greet, ::salute) 
 
    for (task in todoList) { 
        task()  
    } 

    // Prints: Hello! Have a nice day 

A function reference is example of reflection, and this is why the object returned by this operation also contains information about the referred...