View Source Access behaviour (Elixir v1.15.0)

Key-based access to data structures.

The Access module defines a behaviour for dynamically accessing keys of any type in a data structure via the data[key] syntax.

Access supports keyword lists (Keyword) and maps (Map) out of the box. Keywords supports only atoms keys, keys for maps can be of any type. Both return nil if the key does not exist:

iex> keywords = [a: 1, b: 2]
iex> keywords[:a]
1
iex> keywords[:c]
nil

iex> map = %{a: 1, b: 2}
iex> map[:a]
1

iex> star_ratings = %{1.0 => "★", 1.5 => "★☆", 2.0 => "★★"}
iex> star_ratings[1.5]
"★☆"

This syntax is very convenient as it can be nested arbitrarily:

iex> keywords = [a: 1, b: 2]
iex> keywords[:c][:unknown]
nil

This works because accessing anything on a nil value, returns nil itself:

iex> nil[:a]
nil

The access syntax can also be used with the Kernel.put_in/2, Kernel.update_in/2 and Kernel.get_and_update_in/2 macros to allow values to be set in nested data structures:

iex> users = %{"john" => %{age: 27}, "meg" => %{age: 23}}
iex> put_in(users["john"][:age], 28)
%{"john" => %{age: 28}, "meg" => %{age: 23}}

maps-and-structs
Maps and structs

While the access syntax is allowed in maps via map[key], if your map is made of predefined atom keys, you should prefer to access those atom keys with map.key instead of map[key], as map.key will raise if the key is missing (which is not supposed to happen if the keys are predefined).

Similarly, since structs are maps and structs have predefined keys, they only allow the struct.key syntax and they do not allow the struct[key] access syntax. Access.key/1 can also be used to construct dynamic access to structs and maps.

In a nutshell, when using put_in/2 and friends:

put_in(struct_or_map.key, :value)
put_in(keyword_or_map[:key], :value)

When using put_in/3 and friends:

put_in(struct_or_map, [Access.key!(:key)], :value)
put_in(keyword_or_map, [:key], :value)

This covers the dual nature of maps in Elixir, as they can be either for structured data or as a key-value store. See the Map module for more information.

nested-data-structures
Nested data structures

Both key-based access syntaxes can be used with the nested update functions and macros in Kernel, such as Kernel.get_in/2, Kernel.put_in/3, Kernel.update_in/3, Kernel.pop_in/2, and Kernel.get_and_update_in/3.

For example, to update a map inside another map:

iex> users = %{"john" => %{age: 27}, "meg" => %{age: 23}}
iex> put_in(users["john"].age, 28)
%{"john" => %{age: 28}, "meg" => %{age: 23}}

This module provides convenience functions for traversing other structures, like tuples and lists. These functions can be used in all the Access-related functions and macros in Kernel.

For instance, given a user map with the :name and :languages keys, here is how to deeply traverse the map and convert all language names to uppercase:

iex> languages = [
...>   %{name: "elixir", type: :functional},
...>   %{name: "c", type: :procedural}
...> ]
iex> user = %{name: "john", languages: languages}
iex> update_in(user, [:languages, Access.all(), :name], &String.upcase/1)
%{
  name: "john",
  languages: [
    %{name: "ELIXIR", type: :functional},
    %{name: "C", type: :procedural}
  ]
}

See the functions key/1, key!/1, elem/1, and all/0 for some of the available accessors.

Link to this section Summary

Types

access_fun(data, current_value)

container()

get_and_update_fun(data, current_value)

get_fun(data)

key()

nil_container()

t()

value()

Callbacks

fetch(term, key)

Invoked in order to access the value stored under key in the given term term.

get_and_update(data, key, function)

Invoked in order to access the value under key and update it at the same time.

pop(data, key)

Invoked to "pop" the value under key out of the given data structure.

Functions

all()

Returns a function that accesses all the elements in a list.

at(index)

Returns a function that accesses the element at index (zero based) of a list.

at!(index)

Same as at/1 except that it raises Enum.OutOfBoundsError if the given index is out of bounds.

elem(index)

Returns a function that accesses the element at the given index in a tuple.

fetch(container, key)

Fetches the value for the given key in a container (a map, keyword list, or struct that implements the Access behaviour).

fetch!(container, key)

Same as fetch/2 but returns the value directly, or raises a KeyError exception if key is not found.

filter(func)

Returns a function that accesses all elements of a list that match the provided predicate.

get(container, key, default \\ nil)

Gets the value for the given key in a container (a map, keyword list, or struct that implements the Access behaviour).

get_and_update(container, key, fun)

Gets and updates the given key in a container (a map, a keyword list, a struct that implements the Access behaviour).

key(key, default \\ nil)

Returns a function that accesses the given key in a map/struct.

key!(key)

Returns a function that accesses the given key in a map/struct.

pop(container, key)

Removes the entry with a given key from a container (a map, keyword list, or struct that implements the Access behaviour).

slice(range)

Returns a function that accesses all items of a list that are within the provided range.

Link to this section Types

access_fun(data, current_value)

@type access_fun(data, current_value) ::
  get_fun(data) | get_and_update_fun(data, current_value)

container()

@type container() :: keyword() | struct() | map()

get_and_update_fun(data, current_value)

@type get_and_update_fun(data, current_value) ::
  (:get_and_update, data, (term() -> term()) ->
     {current_value, new_data :: container()} | :pop)

get_fun(data)

@type get_fun(data) :: (:get, data, (term() -> term()) -> new_data :: container())

key()

@type key() :: any()

nil_container()

@type nil_container() :: nil

t()

@type t() :: container() | nil_container() | any()

value()

@type value() :: any()

Link to this section Callbacks

fetch(term, key)

@callback fetch(term :: t(), key()) :: {:ok, value()} | :error

Invoked in order to access the value stored under key in the given term term.

This function should return {:ok, value} where value is the value under key if the key exists in the term, or :error if the key does not exist in the term.

Many of the functions defined in the Access module internally call this function. This function is also used when the square-brackets access syntax (structure[key]) is used: the fetch/2 callback implemented by the module that defines the structure struct is invoked and if it returns {:ok, value} then value is returned, or if it returns :error then nil is returned.

See the Map.fetch/2 and Keyword.fetch/2 implementations for examples of how to implement this callback.

get_and_update(data, key, function)

@callback get_and_update(
  data,
  key(),
  (value() | nil -> {current_value, new_value :: value()} | :pop)
) ::
  {current_value, new_data :: data}
when current_value: value(), data: container()

Invoked in order to access the value under key and update it at the same time.

The implementation of this callback should invoke fun with the value under key in the passed structure data, or with nil if key is not present in it. This function must return either {current_value, new_value} or :pop.

If the passed function returns {current_value, new_value}, the return value of this callback should be {current_value, new_data}, where:

current_value is the retrieved value (which can be operated on before being returned)
new_value is the new value to be stored under key
new_data is data after updating the value of key with new_value.

If the passed function returns :pop, the return value of this callback must be {value, new_data} where value is the value under key (or nil if not present) and new_data is data without key.

See the implementations of Map.get_and_update/3 or Keyword.get_and_update/3 for more examples.

pop(data, key)

@callback pop(data, key()) :: {value(), data} when data: container()

Invoked to "pop" the value under key out of the given data structure.

When key exists in the given structure data, the implementation should return a {value, new_data} tuple where value is the value that was under key and new_data is term without key.

When key is not present in the given structure, a tuple {value, data} should be returned, where value is implementation-defined.

See the implementations for Map.pop/3 or Keyword.pop/3 for more examples.

Link to this section Functions

all()

@spec all() :: access_fun(data :: list(), current_value :: list())

Returns a function that accesses all the elements in a list.

The returned function is typically passed as an accessor to Kernel.get_in/2, Kernel.get_and_update_in/3, and friends.

examples
Examples

iex> list = [%{name: "john"}, %{name: "mary"}]
iex> get_in(list, [Access.all(), :name])
["john", "mary"]
iex> get_and_update_in(list, [Access.all(), :name], fn prev ->
...>   {prev, String.upcase(prev)}
...> end)
{["john", "mary"], [%{name: "JOHN"}, %{name: "MARY"}]}
iex> pop_in(list, [Access.all(), :name])
{["john", "mary"], [%{}, %{}]}

Here is an example that traverses the list dropping even numbers and multiplying odd numbers by 2:

iex> require Integer
iex> get_and_update_in([1, 2, 3, 4, 5], [Access.all()], fn num ->
...>   if Integer.is_even(num), do: :pop, else: {num, num * 2}
...> end)
{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5], [2, 6, 10]}

An error is raised if the accessed structure is not a list:

iex> get_in(%{}, [Access.all()])
** (RuntimeError) Access.all/0 expected a list, got: %{}

at(index)

@spec at(integer()) :: access_fun(data :: list(), current_value :: term())

Returns a function that accesses the element at index (zero based) of a list.

Keep in mind that index lookups in lists take linear time: the larger the list, the longer it will take to access its index. Therefore index-based operations are generally avoided in favor of other functions in the Enum module.

The returned function is typically passed as an accessor to Kernel.get_in/2, Kernel.get_and_update_in/3, and friends.

examples
Examples

iex> list = [%{name: "john"}, %{name: "mary"}]
iex> get_in(list, [Access.at(1), :name])
"mary"
iex> get_in(list, [Access.at(-1), :name])
"mary"
iex> get_and_update_in(list, [Access.at(0), :name], fn prev ->
...>   {prev, String.upcase(prev)}
...> end)
{"john", [%{name: "JOHN"}, %{name: "mary"}]}
iex> get_and_update_in(list, [Access.at(-1), :name], fn prev ->
...>   {prev, String.upcase(prev)}
...> end)
{"mary", [%{name: "john"}, %{name: "MARY"}]}

at/1 can also be used to pop elements out of a list or a key inside of a list:

iex> list = [%{name: "john"}, %{name: "mary"}]
iex> pop_in(list, [Access.at(0)])
{%{name: "john"}, [%{name: "mary"}]}
iex> pop_in(list, [Access.at(0), :name])
{"john", [%{}, %{name: "mary"}]}

When the index is out of bounds, nil is returned and the update function is never called:

iex> list = [%{name: "john"}, %{name: "mary"}]
iex> get_in(list, [Access.at(10), :name])
nil
iex> get_and_update_in(list, [Access.at(10), :name], fn prev ->
...>   {prev, String.upcase(prev)}
...> end)
{nil, [%{name: "john"}, %{name: "mary"}]}

An error is raised if the accessed structure is not a list:

iex> get_in(%{}, [Access.at(1)])
** (RuntimeError) Access.at/1 expected a list, got: %{}

at!(index)

(since 1.11.0)

@spec at!(integer()) :: access_fun(data :: list(), current_value :: term())

Same as at/1 except that it raises Enum.OutOfBoundsError if the given index is out of bounds.

examples
Examples

iex> get_in([:a, :b, :c], [Access.at!(2)])
:c
iex> get_in([:a, :b, :c], [Access.at!(3)])
** (Enum.OutOfBoundsError) out of bounds error

elem(index)

@spec elem(non_neg_integer()) :: access_fun(data :: tuple(), current_value :: term())

Returns a function that accesses the element at the given index in a tuple.

The returned function is typically passed as an accessor to Kernel.get_in/2, Kernel.get_and_update_in/3, and friends.

The returned function raises if index is out of bounds.

Note that popping elements out of tuples is not possible and raises an error.

examples
Examples

iex> map = %{user: {"john", 27}}
iex> get_in(map, [:user, Access.elem(0)])
"john"
iex> get_and_update_in(map, [:user, Access.elem(0)], fn prev ->
...>   {prev, String.upcase(prev)}
...> end)
{"john", %{user: {"JOHN", 27}}}
iex> pop_in(map, [:user, Access.elem(0)])
** (RuntimeError) cannot pop data from a tuple

An error is raised if the accessed structure is not a tuple:

iex> get_in(%{}, [Access.elem(0)])
** (RuntimeError) Access.elem/1 expected a tuple, got: %{}

fetch(container, key)

@spec fetch(container(), term()) :: {:ok, term()} | :error

@spec fetch(nil_container(), any()) :: :error

Fetches the value for the given key in a container (a map, keyword list, or struct that implements the Access behaviour).

Returns {:ok, value} where value is the value under key if there is such a key, or :error if key is not found.

examples
Examples

iex> Access.fetch(%{name: "meg", age: 26}, :name)
{:ok, "meg"}

iex> Access.fetch([ordered: true, on_timeout: :exit], :timeout)
:error

fetch!(container, key)

(since 1.10.0)

@spec fetch!(container(), term()) :: term()

Same as fetch/2 but returns the value directly, or raises a KeyError exception if key is not found.

examples
Examples

iex> Access.fetch!(%{name: "meg", age: 26}, :name)
"meg"

filter(func)

(since 1.6.0)

@spec filter((term() -> boolean())) ::
  access_fun(data :: list(), current_value :: list())

Returns a function that accesses all elements of a list that match the provided predicate.

The returned function is typically passed as an accessor to Kernel.get_in/2, Kernel.get_and_update_in/3, and friends.

examples
Examples

iex> list = [%{name: "john", salary: 10}, %{name: "francine", salary: 30}]
iex> get_in(list, [Access.filter(&(&1.salary > 20)), :name])
["francine"]
iex> get_and_update_in(list, [Access.filter(&(&1.salary <= 20)), :name], fn prev ->
...>   {prev, String.upcase(prev)}
...> end)
{["john"], [%{name: "JOHN", salary: 10}, %{name: "francine", salary: 30}]}

filter/1 can also be used to pop elements out of a list or a key inside of a list:

iex> list = [%{name: "john", salary: 10}, %{name: "francine", salary: 30}]
iex> pop_in(list, [Access.filter(&(&1.salary >= 20))])
{[%{name: "francine", salary: 30}], [%{name: "john", salary: 10}]}
iex> pop_in(list, [Access.filter(&(&1.salary >= 20)), :name])
{["francine"], [%{name: "john", salary: 10}, %{salary: 30}]}

When no match is found, an empty list is returned and the update function is never called

iex> list = [%{name: "john", salary: 10}, %{name: "francine", salary: 30}]
iex> get_in(list, [Access.filter(&(&1.salary >= 50)), :name])
[]
iex> get_and_update_in(list, [Access.filter(&(&1.salary >= 50)), :name], fn prev ->
...>   {prev, String.upcase(prev)}
...> end)
{[], [%{name: "john", salary: 10}, %{name: "francine", salary: 30}]}

An error is raised if the predicate is not a function or is of the incorrect arity:

iex> get_in([], [Access.filter(5)])
** (FunctionClauseError) no function clause matching in Access.filter/1

An error is raised if the accessed structure is not a list:

iex> get_in(%{}, [Access.filter(fn a -> a == 10 end)])
** (RuntimeError) Access.filter/1 expected a list, got: %{}

get(container, key, default \\ nil)

@spec get(container(), term(), term()) :: term()

@spec get(nil_container(), any(), default) :: default when default: var

Gets the value for the given key in a container (a map, keyword list, or struct that implements the Access behaviour).

Returns the value under key if there is such a key, or default if key is not found.

examples
Examples

iex> Access.get(%{name: "john"}, :name, "default name")
"john"
iex> Access.get(%{name: "john"}, :age, 25)
25

iex> Access.get([ordered: true], :timeout)
nil

get_and_update(container, key, fun)

@spec get_and_update(
  data,
  key(),
  (value() | nil -> {current_value, new_value :: value()} | :pop)
) ::
  {current_value, new_data :: data}
when data: container(), current_value: var

Gets and updates the given key in a container (a map, a keyword list, a struct that implements the Access behaviour).

The fun argument receives the value of key (or nil if key is not present in container) and must return a two-element tuple {current_value, new_value}: the "get" value current_value (the retrieved value, which can be operated on before being returned) and the new value to be stored under key (new_value). fun may also return :pop, which means the current value should be removed from the container and returned.

The returned value is a two-element tuple with the "get" value returned by fun and a new container with the updated value under key.

examples
Examples

iex> Access.get_and_update([a: 1], :a, fn current_value ->
...>   {current_value, current_value + 1}
...> end)
{1, [a: 2]}

key(key, default \\ nil)

@spec key(key(), term()) ::
  access_fun(data :: struct() | map(), current_value :: term())

Returns a function that accesses the given key in a map/struct.

The returned function is typically passed as an accessor to Kernel.get_in/2, Kernel.get_and_update_in/3, and friends.

The returned function uses the default value if the key does not exist. This can be used to specify defaults and safely traverse missing keys:

iex> get_in(%{}, [Access.key(:user, %{}), Access.key(:name, "meg")])
"meg"

Such is also useful when using update functions, allowing us to introduce values as we traverse the data structure for updates:

iex> put_in(%{}, [Access.key(:user, %{}), Access.key(:name)], "Mary")
%{user: %{name: "Mary"}}

examples
Examples

iex> map = %{user: %{name: "john"}}
iex> get_in(map, [Access.key(:unknown, %{}), Access.key(:name, "john")])
"john"
iex> get_and_update_in(map, [Access.key(:user), Access.key(:name)], fn prev ->
...>   {prev, String.upcase(prev)}
...> end)
{"john", %{user: %{name: "JOHN"}}}
iex> pop_in(map, [Access.key(:user), Access.key(:name)])
{"john", %{user: %{}}}

An error is raised if the accessed structure is not a map or a struct:

iex> get_in([], [Access.key(:foo)])
** (BadMapError) expected a map, got: []

key!(key)

@spec key!(key()) :: access_fun(data :: struct() | map(), current_value :: term())

Returns a function that accesses the given key in a map/struct.

The returned function is typically passed as an accessor to Kernel.get_in/2, Kernel.get_and_update_in/3, and friends.

Similar to key/2, but the returned function raises if the key does not exist.

examples
Examples

iex> map = %{user: %{name: "john"}}
iex> get_in(map, [Access.key!(:user), Access.key!(:name)])
"john"
iex> get_and_update_in(map, [Access.key!(:user), Access.key!(:name)], fn prev ->
...>   {prev, String.upcase(prev)}
...> end)
{"john", %{user: %{name: "JOHN"}}}
iex> pop_in(map, [Access.key!(:user), Access.key!(:name)])
{"john", %{user: %{}}}
iex> get_in(map, [Access.key!(:user), Access.key!(:unknown)])
** (KeyError) key :unknown not found in: %{name: "john"}

An error is raised if the accessed structure is not a map/struct:

iex> get_in([], [Access.key!(:foo)])
** (RuntimeError) Access.key!/1 expected a map/struct, got: []

pop(container, key)

@spec pop(data, key()) :: {value(), data} when data: container()

Removes the entry with a given key from a container (a map, keyword list, or struct that implements the Access behaviour).

Returns a tuple containing the value associated with the key and the updated container. nil is returned for the value if the key isn't in the container.

examples
Examples

With a map:

iex> Access.pop(%{name: "Elixir", creator: "Valim"}, :name)
{"Elixir", %{creator: "Valim"}}

A keyword list:

iex> Access.pop([name: "Elixir", creator: "Valim"], :name)
{"Elixir", [creator: "Valim"]}

An unknown key:

iex> Access.pop(%{name: "Elixir", creator: "Valim"}, :year)
{nil, %{creator: "Valim", name: "Elixir"}}

slice(range)

(since 1.14)

@spec slice(Range.t()) :: access_fun(data :: list(), current_value :: list())

Returns a function that accesses all items of a list that are within the provided range.

The range will be normalized following the same rules from Enum.slice/2.

The returned function is typically passed as an accessor to Kernel.get_in/2, Kernel.get_and_update_in/3, and friends.

examples
Examples

iex> list = [%{name: "john", salary: 10}, %{name: "francine", salary: 30}, %{name: "vitor", salary: 25}]
iex> get_in(list, [Access.slice(1..2), :name])
["francine", "vitor"]
iex> get_and_update_in(list, [Access.slice(1..3//2), :name], fn prev ->
...>   {prev, String.upcase(prev)}
...> end)
{["francine"], [%{name: "john", salary: 10}, %{name: "FRANCINE", salary: 30}, %{name: "vitor", salary: 25}]}

slice/1 can also be used to pop elements out of a list or a key inside of a list:

iex> list = [%{name: "john", salary: 10}, %{name: "francine", salary: 30}, %{name: "vitor", salary: 25}]
iex> pop_in(list, [Access.slice(-2..-1)])
{[%{name: "francine", salary: 30}, %{name: "vitor", salary: 25}], [%{name: "john", salary: 10}]}
iex> pop_in(list, [Access.slice(-2..-1), :name])
{["francine", "vitor"], [%{name: "john", salary: 10}, %{salary: 30}, %{salary: 25}]}

When no match is found, an empty list is returned and the update function is never called

iex> list = [%{name: "john", salary: 10}, %{name: "francine", salary: 30}, %{name: "vitor", salary: 25}]
iex> get_in(list, [Access.slice(5..10//2), :name])
[]
iex> get_and_update_in(list, [Access.slice(5..10//2), :name], fn prev ->
...>   {prev, String.upcase(prev)}
...> end)
{[], [%{name: "john", salary: 10}, %{name: "francine", salary: 30}, %{name: "vitor", salary: 25}]}

An error is raised if the accessed structure is not a list:

iex> get_in(%{}, [Access.slice(2..10//3)])
** (ArgumentError) Access.slice/1 expected a list, got: %{}

An error is raised if the step of the range is negative:

iex> get_in([], [Access.slice(2..10//-1)])
** (ArgumentError) Access.slice/1 does not accept ranges with negative steps, got: 2..10//-1

Settings View Source Access behaviour (Elixir v1.15.0)

maps-and-structs Maps and structs

nested-data-structures Nested data structures

Link to this section Summary

Types

Callbacks

Functions

Link to this section Types

access_fun(data, current_value)

container()

get_and_update_fun(data, current_value)

get_fun(data)

key()

nil_container()

t()

value()

Link to this section Callbacks

fetch(term, key)

get_and_update(data, key, function)

pop(data, key)

Link to this section Functions

all()

examples Examples

at(index)

examples Examples

at!(index)

examples Examples

elem(index)

examples Examples

fetch(container, key)

examples Examples

fetch!(container, key)

examples Examples

filter(func)

examples Examples

get(container, key, default \\ nil)

examples Examples

get_and_update(container, key, fun)

examples Examples

key(key, default \\ nil)

examples Examples

key!(key)

examples Examples

pop(container, key)

examples Examples

slice(range)

examples Examples

View Source Access behaviour (Elixir v1.15.0)

maps-and-structs
Maps and structs

nested-data-structures
Nested data structures

examples
Examples

examples
Examples

examples
Examples

examples
Examples

examples
Examples

examples
Examples

examples
Examples

examples
Examples

examples
Examples

examples
Examples

examples
Examples

examples
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examples
Examples