What is the difference between yield and return in Python?

Yield and return are both keywords used to return values, but they have some differences in their functionalities.

1. Return: Return is used to exit a function and return a value. When a return statement is reached within a function, the function will immediately stop executing and return the value that comes after return. If there are multiple return statements within a function, only the first one that is reached will be effective.
2. In generator functions, the keyword yield is used to turn the function into a generator. When the function reaches the yield statement, it pauses and saves its current state, returning the value after yield. When the generator is called again, the function continues executing from where it left off, until it encounters another yield statement. This allows for lazy computation of the generator and reduces memory consumption.

In summary, “return” is used to return a value from a function and end the function’s execution, while “yield” is used in generator functions to generate sequence values and achieve lazy computation.