I was playing around with Interpolating into names. I was mostly interested in this colon syntax feature to turn a variable into a pair where the identifier is the key.
my %Hamadryas = map { slip $_, 0 }, <
februa
honorina
velutina
>;
{
my $pair = :%Hamadryas;
say $pair; # Hamadryas => { ... }
}
put '-' x 50;
But, just for giggles, I wanted to try it with variable name interpolation too. I know this is stupid because if I know the name I don't need the colon syntax to get it. But, I also thought that it should work by accident:
{
my $name = 'Hamadryas';
# Since I already have the name, I could just:
# my $pair = $name => %::($name)
# But, couldn't I just line up the syntax?
my $pair = :%::($name); # does not work
say $pair;
}
Why doesn't that :%::($name) syntax work? That's more a question of when the parser decides that it's not parsing something it wants to understand. I figured it would see the : and start processing a colon pair, then see the % and know it had a hash, even though there's the :: after the %.
Is there a way to make it work with tricks and grammar mutations?
Related
Suppose I have the following code:
my constant #suits = <Clubs Hearts Spades Diamonds>;
my constant #values = 2..14;
class Card {
has $.suit;
has $.value;
# order is mnemonic of "$value of $suit", i.e. "3 of Clubs"
multi method new($value, $suit) {
return self.bless(:$suit, :$value);
}
}
It defines some suits and some values and what it means to be a card.
Now, to build a deck, I essentially need to take the cross product of the suits and the values and apply that to the constructor.
The naiive approach to do this, would of course be to just iterate with a loop:
my #deck = gather for #values X #suits -> ($v, $c) {
take Card.new($v, $c);
}
But this is Raku, we have a cross function that can take a function as an optional argument!, so of course I'm gonna do that!
my #deck = cross(#values, #suits, :with(Card.new));
# Unexpected named argument 'with' passed
# in block <unit> at .\example.raku line 36
... wait no.
What about this?
my #deck = cross(#values, #suits):with(Card.new);
# Unexpected named argument 'with' passed
# in block <unit> at .\example.raku line 36
Still nothing. Reference maybe?
my #deck = cross(#values, #suits):with(&Card.new);
# ===SORRY!=== Error while compiling D:\Code\Raku/.\example.raku
# Illegally post-declared type:
# Card used at line 36
I read somewhere I can turn a function into an infix operator with []
my #deck = cross(#values, #suits):with([Card.new]);
# Unexpected named argument 'with' passed
# in block <unit> at .\example.raku line 36
That also doesn't work.
If classes are supposed to just be modules, shouldn't I then be able to pass a function reference?
Also why is it saying 'with' is that's unexpected? If I'm intuiting this right, what it's actually complaining about is the type of the input, rather than the named argument.
The error message is indeed confusing.
The :with parameter expects a Callable. Card.new is not a Callable. If you write it as :with( { Card.new($^number, $^suit) } ), it appears to work.
Note that I did not use $^value, $^suit, because they order differently alphabetically, so would produce the values in the wrong order. See The ^ twigil for more information on that syntax.
The error is LTA, this makes it a little bit better.
To get back to your question: you can find the code object that corresponds to Card.new with ^find_method. However, that will not work, as Card.new actually expects 3 arguments: the invocant (aka self), $value and $suit. Whereas the cross function will only pass the value and the suit.
The title of your question is “How do I take a reference to new?”, but that is not really what you want to do.
Raku being Raku, you can actually get a reference to new.
my $ref = Card.^lookup('new');
You can't use it like you want to though.
$ref(2,'Clubs'); # ERROR
The problem is that methods take a class or instance as the first argument.
$ref(Card, 2,'Clubs');
You could use .assuming to add it in.
$ref .= assuming(Card);
$ref(2,'Clubs');
But that isn't really any better than creating a block lambda
$ref = { Card.new( |#_ ) }
$ref(2,'Clubs');
All of these work:
cross( #values, #suits ) :with({Card.new(|#_)}) # adverb outside
cross( #values, #suits, :with({Card.new(|#_)}) ) # inside at end
cross( :with({Card.new(|#_)}), #values, #suits ) # inside at beginning
#values X[&( {Card.new(|#_)} )] #suits # cross meta-op with fake infix op
do {
sub new-card ($value,$suit) { Card.new(:$value,:$suit) }
#values X[&new-card] #suits
}
do {
sub with ($value,$suit) { Card.new(:$value,:$suit) }
cross(#values,#suits):&with
}
multi sub infix:<*>( Numeric $i, Block $b ) { &$b($_) for ^($i.Int); }
3 * { .say };
Yields
Useless use of "*" in expression "3 * { .say }" in sink context
How do I get rid of that and make my operator work? I know I could assign it to $ or something else, but I don't want that.
Add this line to the start of your code:
proto sub infix:<*> ( | --> Nil ) {*}
See my answer to Impossible to put a map in sink context for a little on the --> Nil part of this (along with a boatload of irrelevant stuff too) including Larry's 2012 comment:
--> Nil seems like pretty good documentation of a procedure done only for its side-effects
In a for loop, a different variable is assigned a value. The variable which has already been assigned a value is getting assigned the value from next iteration. At the end, both variable have the same value.
The code is for validating data in a file. When I print the values, it prints correct value for first iteration but in the next iteration, the value assigned in first iteration is changed.
When I print the value of $value3 and $value4 in the for loop, it shows null for $value4 and some value for $value3 but in the next iteration, the value of $value3 is overwritten by the value of $value4
I have tried on rakudo perl 6.c
my $fh= $!FileName.IO.open;
my $fileObject = FileValidation.new( file => $fh );
for (3,4).list {
put "Iteration: ", $_;
if ($_ == 4) {
$value4 := $fileObject.FileValidationFunction(%.ValidationRules{4}<ValidationFunction>, %.ValidationRules{4}<Arguments>);
}
if ($_ == 3) {
$value3 := $fileObject.FileValidationFunction(%.ValidationRules{3}<ValidationFunction>, %.ValidationRules{3}<Arguments>);
}
$fh.seek: SeekFromBeginning;
}
TL;DR It's not possible to confidently answer your question as it stands. This is a nanswer -- an answer in the sense I'm writing it as one but also quite possibly not an answer in the sense of helping you fix your problem.
Is it is rw? A first look.
The is rw trait on a routine or class attribute means it returns a container that contains a value rather than just returning a value.
If you then alias that container then you can get the behavior you've described.
For example:
my $foo;
sub bar is rw { $foo = rand }
my ($value3, $value4);
$value3 := bar;
.say for $value3, $value4;
$value4 := bar;
.say for $value3, $value4;
displays:
0.14168492246366005
(Any)
0.31843665763839857
0.31843665763839857
This isn't a bug in the language or compiler. It's just P6 code doing what it's supposed to do.
A longer version of the same thing
Perhaps the above is so far from your code it's disorienting. So here's the same thing wrapped in something like the code you provided.
spurt 'junk', 'junk';
class FileValidation {
has $.file;
has $!foo;
method FileValidationFunction ($,$) is rw { $!foo = rand }
}
class bar {
has $!FileName = 'junk';
has %.ValidationRules =
{ 3 => { ValidationFunction => {;}, Arguments => () },
4 => { ValidationFunction => {;}, Arguments => () } }
my ($value3, $value4);
method baz {
my $fh= $!FileName.IO.open;
my $fileObject = FileValidation.new( file => $fh );
my ($value3, $value4);
for (3,4).list {
put "Iteration: ", $_;
if ($_ == 4) {
$value4 := $fileObject.FileValidationFunction(
%.ValidationRules{4}<ValidationFunction>, %.ValidationRules{4}<Arguments>);
}
if ($_ == 3) {
$value3 := $fileObject.FileValidationFunction(
%.ValidationRules{3}<ValidationFunction>, %.ValidationRules{3}<Arguments>);
}
$fh.seek: SeekFromBeginning;
.say for $value3, $value4
}
}
}
bar.new.baz
This outputs:
Iteration: 3
0.5779679442816953
(Any)
Iteration: 4
0.8650280000277686
0.8650280000277686
Is it is rw? A second look.
Brad and I came up with essentially the same answer (at the same time; I was a minute ahead of Brad but who's counting? I mean besides me? :)) but Brad nicely nails the fix:
One way to avoid aliasing a container is to just use =.
(This is no doubt also why #ElizabethMattijsen++ asked about trying = instead of :=.)
You've commented that changing from := to = made no difference.
But presumably you didn't change from := to = throughout your entire codebase but rather just (the equivalent of) the two in the code you've shared.
So perhaps the problem can still be fixed by switching from := to =, but in some of your code elsewhere. (That said, don't just globally replace := with =. Instead, make sure you understand their difference and then change them as appropriate. You've got a test suite, right? ;))
How to move forward if you're still stuck
Right now your question has received several upvotes and no downvotes and you've got two answers (that point to the same problem).
But maybe our answers aren't good enough.
If so...
The addition of the reddit comment, and trying = instead of :=, and trying the latest compiler, and commenting on those things, leaves me glad I didn't downvote your question, but I haven't upvoted it yet and there's a reason for that. It's because your question is still missing a Minimal Reproducible Example.
You responded to my suggestion about producing an MRE with:
The problem is that I am not able to replicate this in a simpler environment
I presumed that's your situation, but as you can imagine, that means we can't confidently replicate it at all. That may be the way you prefer to go for reasons but it goes against SO guidance (in the link above) and if the current answers aren't adequate then the sensible way forward is for you to do what it takes to share code that reproduces your problem.
If it's large, please don't just paste it into your question but instead link to it. Perhaps you can set it up on glot.io using the + button to use multiple files (up to 6 I think, plus there's a standard input too). If not, perhaps gist it via, say, gist.github.com, and if I can I'll set it up on glot.io for you.
What is probably happening is that you are returning a container rather than a value, then aliasing the container to a variable.
class Foo {
has $.a is rw;
}
my $o = Foo.new( a => 1 );
my $old := $o.a;
say $old; # 1
$o.a = 2;
say $old; # 2
One way to avoid aliasing a container is to just use =.
my $old = $o.a;
say $old; # 1
$o.a = 2;
say $old; # 1
You could also decontainerize the value using either .self or .<>
my $old := $o.a.<>;
say $old; # 1
$o.a = 2;
say $old; # 1
(Note that .<> above could be .self or just <>.)
In Edit distance: Ignore start/end, I offered a Perl 6 solution to a fuzzy fuzzy matching problem. I had a grammar like this (although maybe I've improved it after Edit #3):
grammar NString {
regex n-chars { [<.ignore>* \w]**4 }
regex ignore { \s }
}
The literal 4 itself was the length of the target string in the example. But the next problem might be some other length. So how can I tell the grammar how long I want that match to be?
Although the docs don't show an example or using the $args parameter, I found one in S05-grammar/example.t in roast.
Specify the arguments in :args and give the regex an appropriate signature. Inside the regex, access the arguments in a code block:
grammar NString {
regex n-chars ($length) { [<.ignore>* \w]**{ $length } }
regex ignore { \s }
}
class NString::Actions {
method n-chars ($/) {
put "Found $/";
}
}
my $string = 'The quick, brown butterfly';
loop {
state $from = 0;
my $match = NString.subparse(
$string,
:rule('n-chars'),
:actions(NString::Actions),
:c($from++),
:args( \(5) )
);
last unless ?$match;
}
I'm still not sure about the rules for passing the arguments though. This doesn't work:
:args( 5 )
I get:
Too few positionals passed; expected 2 arguments but got 1
This works:
:args( 5, )
But that's enough thinking about this for one night.
I'm looking for a way to find the type of a variable in Tcl. For example if I have the variable $a and I want to know whether it is an integer.
I have been using the following so far:
if {[string is boolean $a]} {
#do something
}
and this seems to work great for the following types:
alnum, alpha, ascii, boolean, control, digit, double, false, graph, integer, lower, print, punct, space, true, upper, wordchar, xdigit
However it is not capable to tell me if my variable might be an array, a list or a dictionary. Does anyone know of a way to tell if a variable is either of those three?
Tcl's variables don't have types (except for whether or not they're really an associative array of variables — i.e., using the $foo(bar) syntax — for which you use array exists) but Tcl's values do. Well, somewhat. Tcl can mutate values between different types as it sees fit and does not expose this information[*]; all you can really do is check whether a value conforms to a particular type.
Such conformance checks are done with string is (where you need the -strict option, for ugly historical reasons):
if {[string is integer -strict $foo]} {
puts "$foo is an integer!"
}
if {[string is list $foo]} { # Only [string is] where -strict has no effect
puts "$foo is a list! (length: [llength $foo])"
if {[llength $foo]&1 == 0} {
# All dictionaries conform to lists with even length
puts "$foo is a dictionary! (entries: [dict size $foo])"
}
}
Note that all values conform to the type of strings; Tcl's values are always serializable.
[EDIT from comments]: For JSON serialization, it's possible to use dirty hacks to produce a “correct” serialization (strictly, putting everything in a string would be correct from Tcl's perspective but that's not precisely helpful to other languages) with Tcl 8.6. The code to do this, originally posted on Rosetta Code is:
package require Tcl 8.6
proc tcl2json value {
# Guess the type of the value; deep *UNSUPPORTED* magic!
regexp {^value is a (.*?) with a refcount} \
[::tcl::unsupported::representation $value] -> type
switch $type {
string {
# Skip to the mapping code at the bottom
}
dict {
set result "{"
set pfx ""
dict for {k v} $value {
append result $pfx [tcl2json $k] ": " [tcl2json $v]
set pfx ", "
}
return [append result "}"]
}
list {
set result "\["
set pfx ""
foreach v $value {
append result $pfx [tcl2json $v]
set pfx ", "
}
return [append result "\]"]
}
int - double {
return [expr {$value}]
}
booleanString {
return [expr {$value ? "true" : "false"}]
}
default {
# Some other type; do some guessing...
if {$value eq "null"} {
# Tcl has *no* null value at all; empty strings are semantically
# different and absent variables aren't values. So cheat!
return $value
} elseif {[string is integer -strict $value]} {
return [expr {$value}]
} elseif {[string is double -strict $value]} {
return [expr {$value}]
} elseif {[string is boolean -strict $value]} {
return [expr {$value ? "true" : "false"}]
}
}
}
# For simplicity, all "bad" characters are mapped to \u... substitutions
set mapped [subst -novariables [regsub -all {[][\u0000-\u001f\\""]} \
$value {[format "\\\\u%04x" [scan {& } %c]]}]]
return "\"$mapped\""
}
Warning: The above code is not supported. It depends on dirty hacks. It's liable to break without warning. (But it does work. Porting to Tcl 8.5 would require a tiny C extension to read out the type annotations.)
[*] Strictly, it does provide an unsupported interface for discovering the current type annotation of a value in 8.6 — as part of ::tcl::unsupported::representation — but that information is in a deliberately human-readable form and subject to change without announcement. It's for debugging, not code. Also, Tcl uses rather a lot of different types internally (e.g., cached command and variable names) that you won't want to probe for under normal circumstances; things are rather complex under the hood…
The other answers all provide very useful information, but it's worth noting something that a lot of people don't seem to grok at first.
In Tcl, values don't have a type... they question is whether they can be used as a given type. You can think about it this way
string is integer $a
You're not asking
Is the value in $a an integer
What you are asking is
Can I use the value in $a as an integer
Its useful to consider the difference between the two questions when you're thinking along the lines of "is this an integer". Every integer is also a valid list (of one element)... so it can be used as either and both string is commands will return true (as will several others for an integer).
If you want to deal with JSON then I highly suggest you read the JSON page on the Tcl wiki: http://wiki.tcl.tk/json.
On that page I posted a simple function that compiles Tcl values to JSON string given a formatting descriptor. I also find the discussion on that page very informative.
For arrays you want array exists
for dicts you want dict exists
for a list I don't think there is a built in way prior to 8.5?, there is this from http://wiki.tcl.tk/440
proc isalist {string} {
return [expr {0 == [catch {llength $string}]}]
}
To determine if a variable is an array:
proc is_array {var} {
upvar 1 $var value
if {[catch {array names $value} errmsg]} { return 1 }
return 0
}
# How to use it
array set ar {}
set x {1 2 3}
puts "ar is array? [is_array ar]"; # ar is array? 1
puts "x is array? [is_array x]"; # x is array? 0
For the specific case of telling if a value is usable as a dictionary, tcllib's dicttool package has a dict is_dict <value> command that returns a true value if <value> can act as one.