What kind of object is returned by the `map()` function?

The map() function returns an iterator that applies a specified function to every item in the provided iterable. When you call map(), it takes two arguments: a function and an iterable (like a list or a tuple). It processes each element in the iterable with the function and yields the results one at a time. This is done efficiently, as it generates items on-the-fly and does not create a list in memory until you explicitly convert it to one (for example, using list(map(...))). This makes the solution memory-efficient, particularly useful for large datasets.

The other options describe different behaviors that do not match what map() does. For example, returning a list of all values, a boolean, or a sorted iterable are functionalities that are associated with other built-in functions or methods in Python, which serve distinct purposes.