| lists(3erl) | Erlang Module Definition | lists(3erl) |
lists - List processing functions.
This module contains functions for list processing.
Unless otherwise stated, all functions assume that position numbering starts at 1. That is, the first element of a list is at position 1.
Two terms T1 and T2 compare equal if T1 == T2 evaluates to true. They match if T1 =:= T2 evaluates to true.
Whenever an ordering function F is expected as argument, it is assumed that the following properties hold of F for all x, y, and z:
An example of a typical ordering function is less than or equal to: =</2.
all(Pred, List) -> boolean()
Types:
Returns true if Pred(Elem) returns true for all elements Elem in List, otherwise false. The Pred function must return a boolean.
any(Pred, List) -> boolean()
Types:
Returns true if Pred(Elem) returns true for at least one element Elem in List. The Pred function must return a boolean.
append(ListOfLists) -> List1
Types:
Returns a list in which all the sublists of ListOfLists have been appended.
Example:
> lists:append([[1, 2, 3], [a, b], [4, 5, 6]]). [1,2,3,a,b,4,5,6]
append(List1, List2) -> List3
Types:
Returns a new list List3, which is made from the elements of List1 followed by the elements of List2.
Example:
> lists:append("abc", "def").
"abcdef"
lists:append(A, B) is equivalent to A ++ B.
concat(Things) -> string()
Types:
Concatenates the text representation of the elements of Things. The elements of Things can be atoms, integers, floats, or strings.
Example:
> lists:concat([doc, '/', file, '.', 3]). "doc/file.3"
delete(Elem, List1) -> List2
Types:
Returns a copy of List1 where the first element matching Elem is deleted, if there is such an element.
droplast(List) -> InitList
Types:
Drops the last element of a List. The list is to be non-empty, otherwise the function crashes with a function_clause.
dropwhile(Pred, List1) -> List2
Types:
Drops elements Elem from List1 while Pred(Elem) returns true and returns the remaining list. The Pred function must return a boolean.
duplicate(N, Elem) -> List
Types:
Returns a list containing N copies of term Elem.
Example:
> lists:duplicate(5, xx). [xx,xx,xx,xx,xx]
enumerate(List1) -> List2
Types:
Returns List1 with each element H replaced by a tuple of form {I, H} where I is the position of H in List1. The enumeration starts with 1 and increases by 1 in each step.
That is, enumerate/1 behaves as if it had been defined as follows:
enumerate(List) ->
{List1, _ } = lists:mapfoldl(fun(T, Acc) -> {{Acc, T}, Acc+1} end, 1, List),
List1.
Example:
> lists:enumerate([a,b,c]).
[{1,a},{2,b},{3,c}]
enumerate(Index, List1) -> List2
Types:
Returns List1 with each element H replaced by a tuple of form {I, H} where I is the position of H in List1. The enumeration starts with Index and increases by 1 in each step.
That is, enumerate/2 behaves as if it had been defined as follows:
enumerate(I, List) ->
{List1, _ } = lists:mapfoldl(fun(T, Acc) -> {{Acc, T}, Acc+1} end, I, List),
List1.
Example:
> lists:enumerate(10, [a,b,c]).
[{10,a},{11,b},{12,c}]
filter(Pred, List1) -> List2
Types:
List2 is a list of all elements Elem in List1 for which Pred(Elem) returns true. The Pred function must return a boolean.
filtermap(Fun, List1) -> List2
Types:
Calls Fun(Elem) on successive elements Elem of List1. Fun/1 must return either a Boolean or a tuple {true, Value}. The function returns the list of elements for which Fun returns a new value, where a value of true is synonymous with {true, Elem}.
That is, filtermap behaves as if it had been defined as follows:
filtermap(Fun, List1) ->
lists:foldr(fun(Elem, Acc) ->
case Fun(Elem) of
false -> Acc;
true -> [Elem|Acc];
{true,Value} -> [Value|Acc]
end
end, [], List1).
Example:
> lists:filtermap(fun(X) -> case X rem 2 of 0 -> {true, X div 2}; _ -> false end end, [1,2,3,4,5]).
[1,2]
flatlength(DeepList) -> integer() >= 0
Types:
Equivalent to length(flatten(DeepList)), but more efficient.
flatmap(Fun, List1) -> List2
Types:
Takes a function from As to lists of Bs, and a list of As (List1) and produces a list of Bs by applying the function to every element in List1 and appending the resulting lists.
That is, flatmap behaves as if it had been defined as follows:
flatmap(Fun, List1) ->
append(map(Fun, List1)).
Example:
> lists:flatmap(fun(X)->[X,X] end, [a,b,c]). [a,a,b,b,c,c]
flatten(DeepList) -> List
Types:
Returns a flattened version of DeepList.
flatten(DeepList, Tail) -> List
Types:
Returns a flattened version of DeepList with tail Tail appended.
foldl(Fun, Acc0, List) -> Acc1
Types:
Calls Fun(Elem, AccIn) on successive elements A of List, starting with AccIn == Acc0. Fun/2 must return a new accumulator, which is passed to the next call. The function returns the final value of the accumulator. Acc0 is returned if the list is empty.
Example:
> lists:foldl(fun(X, Sum) -> X + Sum end, 0, [1,2,3,4,5]). 15 > lists:foldl(fun(X, Prod) -> X * Prod end, 1, [1,2,3,4,5]). 120
foldr(Fun, Acc0, List) -> Acc1
Types:
Like foldl/3, but the list is traversed from right to left.
Example:
> P = fun(A, AccIn) -> io:format("~p ", [A]), AccIn end.
#Fun<erl_eval.12.2225172>
> lists:foldl(P, void, [1,2,3]).
1 2 3 void
> lists:foldr(P, void, [1,2,3]).
3 2 1 void
foldl/3 is tail recursive and is usually preferred to foldr/3.
join(Sep, List1) -> List2
Types:
Inserts Sep between each element in List1. Has no effect on the empty list and on a singleton list. For example:
> lists:join(x, [a,b,c]). [a,x,b,x,c] > lists:join(x, [a]). [a] > lists:join(x, []). []
foreach(Fun, List) -> ok
Types:
Calls Fun(Elem) for each element Elem in List. This function is used for its side effects and the evaluation order is defined to be the same as the order of the elements in the list.
keydelete(Key, N, TupleList1) -> TupleList2
Types:
Returns a copy of TupleList1 where the first occurrence of a tuple whose Nth element compares equal to Key is deleted, if there is such a tuple.
keyfind(Key, N, TupleList) -> Tuple | false
Types:
Searches the list of tuples TupleList for a tuple whose Nth element compares equal to Key. Returns Tuple if such a tuple is found, otherwise false.
keymap(Fun, N, TupleList1) -> TupleList2
Types:
Returns a list of tuples where, for each tuple in TupleList1, the Nth element Term1 of the tuple has been replaced with the result of calling Fun(Term1).
Examples:
> Fun = fun(Atom) -> atom_to_list(Atom) end.
#Fun<erl_eval.6.10732646>
2> lists:keymap(Fun, 2, [{name,jane,22},{name,lizzie,20},{name,lydia,15}]).
[{name,"jane",22},{name,"lizzie",20},{name,"lydia",15}]
keymember(Key, N, TupleList) -> boolean()
Types:
Returns true if there is a tuple in TupleList whose Nth element compares equal to Key, otherwise false.
keymerge(N, TupleList1, TupleList2) -> TupleList3
Types:
Returns the sorted list formed by merging TupleList1 and TupleList2. The merge is performed on the Nth element of each tuple. Both TupleList1 and TupleList2 must be key-sorted before evaluating this function. When two tuples compare equal, the tuple from TupleList1 is picked before the tuple from TupleList2.
keyreplace(Key, N, TupleList1, NewTuple) -> TupleList2
Types:
Returns a copy of TupleList1 where the first occurrence of a T tuple whose Nth element compares equal to Key is replaced with NewTuple, if there is such a tuple T.
keysearch(Key, N, TupleList) -> {value, Tuple} | false
Types:
Searches the list of tuples TupleList for a tuple whose Nth element compares equal to Key. Returns {value, Tuple} if such a tuple is found, otherwise false.
keysort(N, TupleList1) -> TupleList2
Types:
Returns a list containing the sorted elements of list TupleList1. Sorting is performed on the Nth element of the tuples. The sort is stable.
keystore(Key, N, TupleList1, NewTuple) -> TupleList2
Types:
Returns a copy of TupleList1 where the first occurrence of a tuple T whose Nth element compares equal to Key is replaced with NewTuple, if there is such a tuple T. If there is no such tuple T, a copy of TupleList1 where [NewTuple] has been appended to the end is returned.
keytake(Key, N, TupleList1) -> {value, Tuple, TupleList2} | false
Types:
Searches the list of tuples TupleList1 for a tuple whose Nth element compares equal to Key. Returns {value, Tuple, TupleList2} if such a tuple is found, otherwise false. TupleList2 is a copy of TupleList1 where the first occurrence of Tuple has been removed.
last(List) -> Last
Types:
Returns the last element in List.
map(Fun, List1) -> List2
Types:
Takes a function from As to Bs, and a list of As and produces a list of Bs by applying the function to every element in the list. This function is used to obtain the return values. The evaluation order depends on the implementation.
mapfoldl(Fun, Acc0, List1) -> {List2, Acc1}
Types:
Combines the operations of map/2 and foldl/3 into one pass.
Example:
Summing the elements in a list and double them at the same time:
> lists:mapfoldl(fun(X, Sum) -> {2*X, X+Sum} end,
0, [1,2,3,4,5]).
{[2,4,6,8,10],15}
mapfoldr(Fun, Acc0, List1) -> {List2, Acc1}
Types:
Combines the operations of map/2 and foldr/3 into one pass.
max(List) -> Max
Types:
Returns the first element of List that compares greater than or equal to all other elements of List.
member(Elem, List) -> boolean()
Types:
Returns true if Elem matches some element of List, otherwise false.
merge(ListOfLists) -> List1
Types:
Returns the sorted list formed by merging all the sublists of ListOfLists. All sublists must be sorted before evaluating this function. When two elements compare equal, the element from the sublist with the lowest position in ListOfLists is picked before the other element.
merge(List1, List2) -> List3
Types:
Returns the sorted list formed by merging List1 and List2. Both List1 and List2 must be sorted before evaluating this function. When two elements compare equal, the element from List1 is picked before the element from List2.
merge(Fun, List1, List2) -> List3
Types:
Returns the sorted list formed by merging List1 and List2. Both List1 and List2 must be sorted according to the ordering function Fun before evaluating this function. Fun(A, B) is to return true if A compares less than or equal to B in the ordering, otherwise false. When two elements compare equal, the element from List1 is picked before the element from List2.
merge3(List1, List2, List3) -> List4
Types:
Returns the sorted list formed by merging List1, List2, and List3. All of List1, List2, and List3 must be sorted before evaluating this function. When two elements compare equal, the element from List1, if there is such an element, is picked before the other element, otherwise the element from List2 is picked before the element from List3.
min(List) -> Min
Types:
Returns the first element of List that compares less than or equal to all other elements of List.
nth(N, List) -> Elem
Types:
Returns the Nth element of List.
Example:
> lists:nth(3, [a, b, c, d, e]). c
nthtail(N, List) -> Tail
Types:
Returns the Nth tail of List, that is, the sublist of List starting at N+1 and continuing up to the end of the list.
Example
> lists:nthtail(3, [a, b, c, d, e]). [d,e] > tl(tl(tl([a, b, c, d, e]))). [d,e] > lists:nthtail(0, [a, b, c, d, e]). [a,b,c,d,e] > lists:nthtail(5, [a, b, c, d, e]). []
partition(Pred, List) -> {Satisfying, NotSatisfying}
Types:
Partitions List into two lists, where the first list contains all elements for which Pred(Elem) returns true, and the second list contains all elements for which Pred(Elem) returns false.
Examples:
> lists:partition(fun(A) -> A rem 2 == 1 end, [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]).
{[1,3,5,7],[2,4,6]}
> lists:partition(fun(A) -> is_atom(A) end, [a,b,1,c,d,2,3,4,e]).
{[a,b,c,d,e],[1,2,3,4]}
For a different way to partition a list, see splitwith/2.
prefix(List1, List2) -> boolean()
Types:
Returns true if List1 is a prefix of List2, otherwise false.
reverse(List1) -> List2
Types:
Returns a list with the elements in List1 in reverse order.
reverse(List1, Tail) -> List2
Types:
Returns a list with the elements in List1 in reverse order, with tail Tail appended.
Example:
> lists:reverse([1, 2, 3, 4], [a, b, c]). [4,3,2,1,a,b,c]
search(Pred, List) -> {value, Value} | false
Types:
If there is a Value in List such that Pred(Value) returns true, returns {value, Value} for the first such Value, otherwise returns false. The Pred function must return a boolean.
seq(From, To) -> Seq
seq(From, To, Incr) -> Seq
Types:
Returns a sequence of integers that starts with From and contains the successive results of adding Incr to the previous element, until To is reached or passed (in the latter case, To is not an element of the sequence). Incr defaults to 1.
Failures:
The following equalities hold for all sequences:
length(lists:seq(From, To)) =:= To - From + 1 length(lists:seq(From, To, Incr)) =:= (To - From + Incr) div Incr
Examples:
> lists:seq(1, 10). [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10] > lists:seq(1, 20, 3). [1,4,7,10,13,16,19] > lists:seq(1, 0, 1). [] > lists:seq(10, 6, 4). [] > lists:seq(1, 1, 0). [1]
sort(List1) -> List2
Types:
Returns a list containing the sorted elements of List1.
sort(Fun, List1) -> List2
Types:
Returns a list containing the sorted elements of List1, according to the ordering function Fun. Fun(A, B) is to return true if A compares less than or equal to B in the ordering, otherwise false.
split(N, List1) -> {List2, List3}
Types:
Splits List1 into List2 and List3. List2 contains the first N elements and List3 the remaining elements (the Nth tail).
splitwith(Pred, List) -> {List1, List2}
Types:
Partitions List into two lists according to Pred. splitwith/2 behaves as if it is defined as follows:
splitwith(Pred, List) ->
{takewhile(Pred, List), dropwhile(Pred, List)}.
Examples:
> lists:splitwith(fun(A) -> A rem 2 == 1 end, [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]).
{[1],[2,3,4,5,6,7]}
> lists:splitwith(fun(A) -> is_atom(A) end, [a,b,1,c,d,2,3,4,e]).
{[a,b],[1,c,d,2,3,4,e]}
The Pred function must return a boolean. For a different way to partition a list, see partition/2.
sublist(List1, Len) -> List2
Types:
Returns the sublist of List1 starting at position 1 and with (maximum) Len elements. It is not an error for Len to exceed the length of the list, in that case the whole list is returned.
sublist(List1, Start, Len) -> List2
Types:
Returns the sublist of List1 starting at Start and with (maximum) Len elements. It is not an error for Start+Len to exceed the length of the list.
Examples:
> lists:sublist([1,2,3,4], 2, 2). [2,3] > lists:sublist([1,2,3,4], 2, 5). [2,3,4] > lists:sublist([1,2,3,4], 5, 2). []
subtract(List1, List2) -> List3
Types:
Returns a new list List3 that is a copy of List1, subjected to the following procedure: for each element in List2, its first occurrence in List1 is deleted.
Example:
> lists:subtract("123212", "212").
"312".
lists:subtract(A, B) is equivalent to A -- B.
suffix(List1, List2) -> boolean()
Types:
Returns true if List1 is a suffix of List2, otherwise false.
sum(List) -> number()
Types:
Returns the sum of the elements in List.
takewhile(Pred, List1) -> List2
Types:
Takes elements Elem from List1 while Pred(Elem) returns true, that is, the function returns the longest prefix of the list for which all elements satisfy the predicate. The Pred function must return a boolean.
ukeymerge(N, TupleList1, TupleList2) -> TupleList3
Types:
Returns the sorted list formed by merging TupleList1 and TupleList2. The merge is performed on the Nth element of each tuple. Both TupleList1 and TupleList2 must be key-sorted without duplicates before evaluating this function. When two tuples compare equal, the tuple from TupleList1 is picked and the one from TupleList2 is deleted.
ukeysort(N, TupleList1) -> TupleList2
Types:
Returns a list containing the sorted elements of list TupleList1 where all except the first tuple of the tuples comparing equal have been deleted. Sorting is performed on the Nth element of the tuples.
umerge(ListOfLists) -> List1
Types:
Returns the sorted list formed by merging all the sublists of ListOfLists. All sublists must be sorted and contain no duplicates before evaluating this function. When two elements compare equal, the element from the sublist with the lowest position in ListOfLists is picked and the other is deleted.
umerge(List1, List2) -> List3
Types:
Returns the sorted list formed by merging List1 and List2. Both List1 and List2 must be sorted and contain no duplicates before evaluating this function. When two elements compare equal, the element from List1 is picked and the one from List2 is deleted.
umerge(Fun, List1, List2) -> List3
Types:
Returns the sorted list formed by merging List1 and List2. Both List1 and List2 must be sorted according to the ordering function Fun and contain no duplicates before evaluating this function. Fun(A, B) is to return true if A compares less than or equal to B in the ordering, otherwise false. When two elements compare equal, the element from List1 is picked and the one from List2 is deleted.
umerge3(List1, List2, List3) -> List4
Types:
Returns the sorted list formed by merging List1, List2, and List3. All of List1, List2, and List3 must be sorted and contain no duplicates before evaluating this function. When two elements compare equal, the element from List1 is picked if there is such an element, otherwise the element from List2 is picked, and the other is deleted.
unzip(List1) -> {List2, List3}
Types:
"Unzips" a list of two-tuples into two lists, where the first list contains the first element of each tuple, and the second list contains the second element of each tuple.
unzip3(List1) -> {List2, List3, List4}
Types:
"Unzips" a list of three-tuples into three lists, where the first list contains the first element of each tuple, the second list contains the second element of each tuple, and the third list contains the third element of each tuple.
usort(List1) -> List2
Types:
Returns a list containing the sorted elements of List1 where all except the first element of the elements comparing equal have been deleted.
usort(Fun, List1) -> List2
Types:
Returns a list containing the sorted elements of List1 where all except the first element of the elements comparing equal according to the ordering function Fun have been deleted. Fun(A, B) is to return true if A compares less than or equal to B in the ordering, otherwise false.
zip(List1, List2) -> List3
Types:
"Zips" two lists of equal length into one list of two-tuples, where the first element of each tuple is taken from the first list and the second element is taken from the corresponding element in the second list.
zip3(List1, List2, List3) -> List4
Types:
"Zips" three lists of equal length into one list of three-tuples, where the first element of each tuple is taken from the first list, the second element is taken from the corresponding element in the second list, and the third element is taken from the corresponding element in the third list.
zipwith(Combine, List1, List2) -> List3
Types:
Combines the elements of two lists of equal length into one list. For each pair X, Y of list elements from the two lists, the element in the result list is Combine(X, Y).
zipwith(fun(X, Y) -> {X,Y} end, List1, List2) is equivalent to zip(List1, List2).
Example:
> lists:zipwith(fun(X, Y) -> X+Y end, [1,2,3], [4,5,6]). [5,7,9]
zipwith3(Combine, List1, List2, List3) -> List4
Types:
Combines the elements of three lists of equal length into one list. For each triple X, Y, Z of list elements from the three lists, the element in the result list is Combine(X, Y, Z).
zipwith3(fun(X, Y, Z) -> {X,Y,Z} end, List1, List2, List3) is equivalent to zip3(List1, List2, List3).
Examples:
> lists:zipwith3(fun(X, Y, Z) -> X+Y+Z end, [1,2,3], [4,5,6], [7,8,9]). [12,15,18] > lists:zipwith3(fun(X, Y, Z) -> [X,Y,Z] end, [a,b,c], [x,y,z], [1,2,3]). [[a,x,1],[b,y,2],[c,z,3]]
uniq(List1) -> List2
Types:
Returns a list containing the elements of List1 with duplicated elements removed (preserving the order of the elements). The first occurrence of each element is kept.
Examples:
> lists:uniq([3,3,1,2,1,2,3]). [3,1,2] > lists:uniq([a, a, 1, b, 2, a, 3]). [a, 1, b, 2, 3]
uniq(Fun, List1) -> List2
Types:
Returns a list containing the elements of List1 without the elements for which Fun returned duplicate values (preserving the order of the elements). The first occurrence of each element is kept.
Examples:
> lists:uniq(fun({X, _}) -> X end, [{b, 2}, {a, 1}, {c, 3}, {a, 2}]).
[{b, 2}, {a, 1}, {c, 3}]
| stdlib 4.2 | Ericsson AB |