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D - Associative Array Literal Syntax

reply Benji Smith <Benji_member pathlink.com> writes:
I may be missing something, but I haven't found any information in the D
documentation for how to declare associative array literal values all at once.

For example, once I've declared an array as:

char[char[]][] myArray;

I can now only add values to that array one at a time, as follows:

myArray["red"] = "ff0000";
myArray["green"] = "00ff00";
myArray["green"] = "0000ff";

What I'd like to be able to do (especially in cases where I have lots of values
to add to the array) would look something like this:

myArray = {

"red" => "ff0000",
"green" => "00ff00",
"blue" => "0000ff"

};

..or something like that. I don't really care about the {} braces or the =>
operator, but I would like something that lets me declare an associative array
literal, just like I can declare a static array using the code:

int[] def = { 1, 2, 3 };
Jun 25 2003
parent reply Georg Wrede <Georg_member pathlink.com> writes:
What I'd like to be able to do (especially in cases
where I have lots of values to add to the array)
would look something like this:

myArray = {

"red" => "ff0000",
"green" => "00ff00",
"blue" => "0000ff"

};
This is entirely off hand, so it may clash with a number of things, but the above made me think about myArray = { "red", "ff0000"; "green", "00ff00"; "blue", "0000ff"; } Of course, old programmers would in any case write this as red ff0000 green 00ff00 blue 0000ff and then make a disposable macro to format the lines to whatever is needed. The longer the list, the less the particular format matters. But there's the issue of clarity and readability, and also safety of hand editing the list afterwards, which speak for (some) simplification of syntax here.
Jun 25 2003
parent reply Ilya Minkov <midiclub 8ung.at> writes:
Georg Wrede wrote:
 This is entirely off hand, so it may clash with a number
 of things, but the above made me think about
 
 myArray = {
 "red", "ff0000";
 "green", "00ff00";
 "blue", "0000ff";
 }
YUCK! why not simple assignment operator? myArray = {"red" = "ff0000", // ... This kind of syntax could be very handy in conjuction with a specially constructed prinf with named arguments. :) Actually good for multi-lingual contexts and other similar problems. And again: it should be possibe to define them in-line. -i.
Jun 25 2003
next sibling parent reply Georg Wrede <Georg_member pathlink.com> writes:
In article <bdcte8$2oig$1 digitaldaemon.com>, Ilya Minkov says...
YUCK!
why not simple assignment operator?

myArray = {"red" = "ff0000", 	// ...
I love you, Ilya! You catalyse me to think even further: myArray = { "red" "ff0000", "green" "00ff00" ...} or myArray = { "red" "ff0000", "green" "00ff00", .. }
Jun 25 2003
next sibling parent reply Ilya Minkov <midiclub 8ung.at> writes:
Georg Wrede wrote:
 I love you, Ilya! You catalyse me to think even further:
It's not a very important thinking direction. Walter has some experience, and i believe he would figure out very fast what syntax would appeal to most people in this case, which seems rather simple. What is way more important, is to convince him that it makes sense. Just as the in-line array definition, which is not implemented yet, and the absence of a suitable way to express a single value as a dynamic array literal. It may also be that such things are better postponed to a later version (like after 1.0), since really due, announced and already in-spec features are not implemented yet, e.g. getters and setters for Delphi-like class propertes. I believe the spec mentions something of him not having yet figured out a good way to do something (don't really remember what) and it may make sense to help him with ideas in this direction. -i.
Jun 25 2003
parent Georg Wrede <Georg_member pathlink.com> writes:
In article <bdd087$2rl1$1 digitaldaemon.com>, Ilya Minkov

What is way more important, is to convince him that it
makes sense. Just as the in-line array definition, which is
not implemented yet, and the absence of a suitable way to
express a single value as a dynamic array literal.
Hmm. I think, rather than trying to convince Walter, we should just discuss the issues. "With enough eyes" these issues tend to become clarified. At that point we all see the light (which may even shine from a direction none of us thought initially), and by that time Walter may have decided to implement the thing, before we get around to asking him. (Which of course, is not the same thing as it appearing in the very next version of D!)
It may also be that such things are better postponed to a
later version (like after 1.0), since really due, announced
and already in-spec features are not implemented yet, e.g.
getters and setters for Delphi-like class propertes.
Yes, it is all too easy for us to gallop away conjuring up creative ideas faster than anyone could ever implement them. Recently there have been a few ideas about tidying up the syntax of D, and I must say I am happy with them. I think there are few things more important than the smoothness and the coherence of the syntax of a new language. What comes second is the smoothness and the coherence of the semantics. Then, after a space, come all the other things. I think Walter has done an excellent job so far! (And maybe I am missing other persons who really deserve credit, too.) Right now, we are in such an early stage that we can afford a few ventures into unknown or dubious territory with both of them, but we have to keep in mind that whatever we do as trial-and-error, has to be diligently pruned, before it sticks. There are enough grave examples of leaving these in the language "for just a few minutes too long, and then they stuck!" (Just read some of the later writings of Stroustrup, and maybe Kernighan or Ritchie.)
Jun 25 2003
prev sibling parent reply "Fabian Giesen" <rygNO SPAMgmx.net> writes:
 I love you, Ilya! You catalyse me to think even further:

 myArray = { "red" "ff0000", "green" "00ff00" ...}

 or

 myArray = {
 "red" "ff0000",
 "green" "00ff00",
 ..
 }
That is not only quite conterintuitive and nonobvious (IMHO), it also cannot work with current lexical analysis rules: "Adjacent strings are concatenated with the ~ operator, or by simple juxtaposition" ("Lexical" part of the D language spec) Which means that in your case, the lexical analyzer will collapse that list into "redff0000","green00ff00" before the parser even sees it. -fg
Jun 25 2003
parent Georg Wrede <Georg_member pathlink.com> writes:
In article <bdd2h5$2tt8$1 digitaldaemon.com>, Fabian Giesen
says...
 I love you, Ilya! You catalyse me to think even further:
..
 myArray = { "red" "ff0000", "green" "00ff00", ..  }
That is not only quite conterintuitive and nonobvious (IMHO), it also cannot work with current lexical analysis rules:
Hmm. Now I have a choice between saying "I hate you, Ilya!", or reminding everyone of the disclaimer I wrote 2 messages ago. :-) Anyhow, that is a valid point!
Jun 25 2003
prev sibling parent reply "Julio César Carrascal Urquijo" <adnoctum phreaker.net> writes:
 why not simple assignment operator?

 myArray = {"red" = "ff0000", // ...
Since structs are initialized with the ":" operator associative arrays should to char[char[]] myArray = [ "red": "ff0000", "green": "00ff00", ... ]
Jun 25 2003
next sibling parent "Carlos Santander B." <carlos8294 msn.com> writes:
"Julio César Carrascal Urquijo" <adnoctum phreaker.net> escribió en el
mensaje news:bddhhf$bqj$1 digitaldaemon.com...
| > why not simple assignment operator?
| >
| > myArray = {"red" = "ff0000", // ...
|
|
| Since structs are initialized with the ":" operator associative arrays
| should to
|
| char[char[]] myArray = [
|     "red": "ff0000",
|     "green": "00ff00",
|     ...
| ]
|
|

I agree

—————————————————————————
Carlos Santander


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Jun 25 2003
prev sibling next sibling parent reply Helmut Leitner <leitner hls.via.at> writes:
"Julio César Carrascal Urquijo" wrote:
 
 why not simple assignment operator?

 myArray = {"red" = "ff0000", // ...
Since structs are initialized with the ":" operator associative arrays should to char[char[]] myArray = [ "red": "ff0000", "green": "00ff00", ... ]
I would also prefer this syntax. It's intuitive for the user and it should be easiest to implement. -- Helmut Leitner leitner hls.via.at Graz, Austria www.hls-software.com
Jun 26 2003
next sibling parent BenjiSmith <BenjiSmith_member pathlink.com> writes:
In article <3EFAB509.52286B89 hls.via.at>, Helmut Leitner says...
"Julio César Carrascal Urquijo" wrote:
 
 why not simple assignment operator?

 myArray = {"red" = "ff0000", // ...
Since structs are initialized with the ":" operator associative arrays should to char[char[]] myArray = [ "red": "ff0000", "green": "00ff00", ... ]
I would also prefer this syntax. It's intuitive for the user and it should be easiest to implement. -- Helmut Leitner leitner hls.via.at Graz, Austria www.hls-software.com
Add me to the list of people who like this syntax. --Benji Smith
Jun 26 2003
prev sibling parent reply "Fabian Giesen" <rygNO SPAMgmx.net> writes:
 I would also prefer this syntax. It's intuitive for the user and
 it should be easiest to implement.
When you add a new rule to an existing grammar, it doesn't really matter that much which tokens the rule contains, unless they create heavy ambiguities :) -fg
Jun 26 2003
parent Georg Wrede <Georg_member pathlink.com> writes:
In article <bddhhf$bqj$1 digitaldaemon.com>, Julio César
Carrascal Urquijo says...

Since structs are initialized with the ":" operator
associative arrays should to

char[char[]] myArray = [
    "red": "ff0000",
    "green": "00ff00",
    ...
]
In article <bdf708$20ir$1 digitaldaemon.com>, Fabian Giesen says...
 I would also prefer this syntax. It's intuitive for the
 user and it should be easiest to implement.
When you add a new rule to an existing grammar, it doesn't really matter that much which tokens the rule contains, unless they create heavy ambiguities :)
I disagree. One could say that it may not matter for the one writing the compiler, but I doubt even that. But carefully choosing the tokens is an extremely important task! A sloppy choice of token early on in the development of a language may not cause any discomfort for a long time, but eventually it will get seriously in the way when new tokens are needed for other things, or when the grammar has to be expanded to encompass new concepts. I think the above syntax looks nice, and the fact that associative arrays are "sort of" related to structs also speaks for a similar syntax. But -- I think now is the time for everyone to search for valid reasons why this is not a good choice. If we don't find any, then we can assume this syntax with a good degree of confidence!
Jun 26 2003
prev sibling next sibling parent reply Richard Krehbiel <rich kastle.com> writes:
Julio César Carrascal Urquijo wrote:
 Since structs are initialized with the ":" operator associative arrays
 should to
 
 char[char[]] myArray = [
     "red": "ff0000",
     "green": "00ff00",
     ...
 ]
Why not adopt prior art? We are trying to attract C users, after all... char[char[]] myArray = { ["red"] "ff0000", ["green"] "00ff00", ... http://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc/Designated-Inits.html "Designated Initializers Standard C89 requires the elements of an initializer to appear in a fixed order, the same as the order of the elements in the array or structure being initialized. In ISO C99 you can give the elements in any order, specifying the array indices or structure field names they apply to, and GNU C allows this as an extension in C89 mode as well. This extension is not implemented in GNU C++. To specify an array index, write [index] = before the element value. For example, int a[6] = { [4] = 29, [2] = 15 }; is equivalent to int a[6] = { 0, 0, 15, 0, 29, 0 };"
Jun 27 2003
parent reply "Fabian Giesen" <rygNO SPAMgmx.net> writes:
 Why not adopt prior art?  We are trying to attract C users, after
 all...

 char[char[]] myArray = {
      ["red"] "ff0000",
      ["green"] "00ff00",
      ...

 http://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc/Designated-Inits.html
Nah, we are trying to attract C/C++ users who are looking for a cleaner language. GCCs syntax is IMHO quite cumbersome (and probably meant not to interfere with existing valid source files). -fg
Jun 27 2003
parent reply Richard Krehbiel <rich kastle.com> writes:
Fabian Giesen wrote:
Why not adopt prior art?  We are trying to attract C users, after
all...

char[char[]] myArray = {
     ["red"] "ff0000",
     ["green"] "00ff00",
     ...

http://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc/Designated-Inits.html
Nah, we are trying to attract C/C++ users who are looking for a cleaner language. GCCs syntax is IMHO quite cumbersome (and probably meant not to interfere with existing valid source files).
First of all, my example was not correct; it should be char[char[]] myArray = { ["red"] = "ff0000", ["green"] = "00ff00", ... Secondly, it's not GCC's syntax, it's C99 (the four-year-old C standard that most compiler vendors haven't bothered to adopt, except GCC which is moving rather slowly).
Jun 27 2003
parent "Fabian Giesen" <rygNO SPAMgmx.net> writes:
 First of all, my example was not correct; it should be

 char[char[]] myArray = {
       ["red"] = "ff0000",
       ["green"] = "00ff00",
       ...

 Secondly, it's not GCC's syntax, it's C99 (the four-year-old C
 standard that most compiler vendors haven't bothered to adopt, except
 GCC which is moving rather slowly).
Oh, I thought it was a GCC extension. Anyway, my point still holds - that is hardly intuitive or elegant syntax. -fg
Jun 27 2003
prev sibling parent reply "Walter" <walter digitalmars.com> writes:
"Julio César Carrascal Urquijo" <adnoctum phreaker.net> wrote in message
news:bddhhf$bqj$1 digitaldaemon.com...
 why not simple assignment operator?

 myArray = {"red" = "ff0000", // ...
Since structs are initialized with the ":" operator associative arrays should to char[char[]] myArray = [ "red": "ff0000", "green": "00ff00", ... ]
I think it's a good syntax too.
Aug 09 2003
next sibling parent "Charles Sanders" <sanders-consulting comcast.net> writes:
Got my vote.

Charles

"Walter" <walter digitalmars.com> wrote in message
news:bh38pd$2hhg$1 digitaldaemon.com...
 "Julio César Carrascal Urquijo" <adnoctum phreaker.net> wrote in message
 news:bddhhf$bqj$1 digitaldaemon.com...
 why not simple assignment operator?

 myArray = {"red" = "ff0000", // ...
Since structs are initialized with the ":" operator associative arrays should to char[char[]] myArray = [ "red": "ff0000", "green": "00ff00", ... ]
I think it's a good syntax too.
Aug 09 2003
prev sibling parent reply "Mike Wynn" <mike.wynn l8night.co.uk> writes:
"Walter" <walter digitalmars.com> wrote in message
news:bh38pd$2hhg$1 digitaldaemon.com...
 "Julio César Carrascal Urquijo" <adnoctum phreaker.net> wrote in message
 news:bddhhf$bqj$1 digitaldaemon.com...
 why not simple assignment operator?

 myArray = {"red" = "ff0000", // ...
Since structs are initialized with the ":" operator associative arrays should to char[char[]] myArray = [ "red": "ff0000", "green": "00ff00", ... ]
I think it's a good syntax too.
why not the perl/php syntax (and isn't it char[][key_type] for a assoc array (key of char[]) of arrays of char ??) char[][char[]] myArray = [ "red" => "ff0000", "green" => "00ff00" ]; I don't object to the ':' and can see the consistency, seems to me that if another lang (derived from the same roots) has a syntax for something it seems better to copy it unmodified (as long as it fits).
Aug 09 2003
parent reply "Walter" <walter digitalmars.com> writes:
"Mike Wynn" <mike.wynn l8night.co.uk> wrote in message
news:bh3ggq$2obn$1 digitaldaemon.com...
 "Walter" <walter digitalmars.com> wrote in message
 news:bh38pd$2hhg$1 digitaldaemon.com...
 "Julio César Carrascal Urquijo" <adnoctum phreaker.net> wrote in message
 news:bddhhf$bqj$1 digitaldaemon.com...
 why not simple assignment operator?

 myArray = {"red" = "ff0000", // ...
Since structs are initialized with the ":" operator associative arrays should to char[char[]] myArray = [ "red": "ff0000", "green": "00ff00", ... ]
I think it's a good syntax too.
why not the perl/php syntax (and isn't it char[][key_type] for a assoc array (key of char[]) of arrays of char ??) char[][char[]] myArray = [ "red" => "ff0000", "green" => "00ff00" ]; I don't object to the ':' and can see the consistency, seems to me that
if
 another lang (derived from the same roots) has a syntax for something it
 seems better to copy it unmodified (as long as it fits).
=> would work, but I think the consistency of : gives it a slight edge.
Aug 09 2003
parent John Reimer <jjreimer telus.net> writes:
I don't object to the  ':' and can see the consistency, seems to me that
if
another lang (derived from the same roots) has a syntax for something it
seems better to copy it unmodified (as long as it fits).
=> would work, but I think the consistency of : gives it a slight edge.
I tend to agree with Walter (how can I go wrong? ;). '=>' does not feel consistant with a language like D, though it does look attractive. It seems like something Ada would have. A colon feels more natural and C-like. It's used in the 'case' and 'goto' statements (and ?:). It just feels more fitting to the associative array context where an effect is being related to a cause. Later, John
Aug 09 2003