What are starred variables like *arr?
*arr = "sayuj"
=> ["sayuj"]
*arr = *%w{i am happy}
=> ["i", "am", "happy"]
*arr = %w{i am happy}
=> [["i", "am", "happy"]]
It's called the splat operator, and it can collect elements into an array (applied to an un-bound variable) or split an array into individual elements (applied to an array).
def bar(*a)
a[1]
end
bar(1,2,3)
=> 2
def foo(a,b,c)
b
end
foo(*[1,2,3])
=> 2
That's a little over-simplified, read the linked post for more in-depth information.
Related
This question already has answers here:
Flattening nested hash to a single hash with Ruby/Rails
(6 answers)
Closed 8 years ago.
I fetch a JSON document and need to programmatically "flatten" the keys for another third-party service.
What this means is, if my JSON doc comes back with the following:
{'first_name' => "Joe", 'hoffman' => {'patterns' => ['negativity', 'self-sabotage'], 'right_road' => 'happy family'}, 'mbti' => 'INTJ'}
I need to be able to know to create a "flat" key-value pair for a third-party service like this:
first_name = "Joe"
hoffman.patterns = "negativity, self-sabotage"
hoffman.right_road = "happy family"
mbti = "INTJ"
Once I know there's a sub-document, the parsing I think I have figured out just appending the sub-keys with key + '.' + "{subkey}" but right now, don't know which ones are straight key-value and which one's have sub-documents.
Question:
a) How can I parse the JSON to know which keys have sub-documents (additional key-values)?
b) Suggestions on ways to create a string from an array
You could also monkey patch Hash to do this on it's own like so:
class Hash
def flatten_keys(prefix=nil)
each_pair.map do |k,v|
key = [prefix,k].compact.join(".")
v.is_a?(Hash) ? v.flatten_keys(key) : [key,v.is_a?(Array) ? v.join(", ") : v]
end.flatten.each_slice(2).to_a
end
def to_flat_hash
Hash[flatten_keys]
end
end
Then it would be
require 'json'
h = JSON.parse(YOUR_JSON_RESPONSE)
#=> {'first_name' => "Joe", 'hoffman' => {'patterns' => ['negativity', 'self-sabotage'], 'right_road' => 'happy family'}, 'mbti' => 'INTJ'}
h.to_flat_hash
#=> {"first_name"=>"Joe", "hoffman.patterns"=>"negativity, self-sabotage", "hoffman.right_road"=>"happy family", "mbti"=>"INTJ"}
Will work with additional nesting too
h = {"first_name"=>"Joe", "hoffman"=>{"patterns"=>["negativity", "self-sabotage"], "right_road"=>"happy family", "wrong_road"=>{"bad_choices"=>["alcohol", "heroin"]}}, "mbti"=>"INTJ"}
h.to_flat_hash
#=> {"first_name"=>"Joe", "hoffman.patterns"=>"negativity, self-sabotage", "hoffman.right_road"=>"happy family", "hoffman.wrong_road.bad_choices"=>"alcohol, heroin", "mbti"=>"INTJ"}
Quick and dirty recursive proc:
# assuming you've already `JSON.parse` the incoming json into this hash:
a = {'first_name' => "Joe", 'hoffman' => {'patterns' => ['negativity', 'self-sabotage'], 'right_road' => 'happy family'}, 'mbti' => 'INTJ'}
# define a recursive proc:
flatten_keys = -> (h, prefix = "") do
#flattened_keys ||= {}
h.each do |key, value|
# Here we check if there's "sub documents" by asking if the value is a Hash
# we also pass in the name of the current prefix and key and append a . to it
if value.is_a? Hash
flatten_keys.call value, "#{prefix}#{key}."
else
# if not we concatenate the key and the prefix and add it to the #flattened_keys hash
#flattened_keys["#{prefix}#{key}"] = value
end
end
#flattened_keys
end
flattened = flatten_keys.call a
# => "first_name"=>"Joe", "hoffman.patterns"=>["negativity", "self-sabotage"], "hoffman.right_road"=>"happy family", "mbti"=>"INTJ"}
And then, to turn the arrays into strings just join them:
flattened.inject({}) do |hash, (key, value)|
value = value.join(', ') if value.is_a? Array
hash.merge! key => value
end
# => {"first_name"=>"Joe", "hoffman.patterns"=>"negativity, self-sabotage", "hoffman.right_road"=>"happy family", "mbti"=>"INTJ"}
Another way, inspired by this post:
def flat_hash(h,f=[],g={})
return g.update({ f=>h }) unless h.is_a? Hash
h.each { |k,r| flat_hash(r,f+[k],g) }
g
end
h = { :a => { :b => { :c => 1,
:d => 2 },
:e => 3 },
:f => 4 }
result = {}
flat_hash(h) #=> {[:a, :b, :c]=>1, [:a, :b, :d]=>2, [:a, :e]=>3, [:f]=>4}
.each{ |k, v| result[k.join('.')] = v } #=> {"a.b.c"=>1, "a.b.d"=>2, "a.e"=>3, "f"=>4}
Given certain keys, I want to get an array of values from a hash (in the order I gave the keys). I had done this:
class Hash
def values_for_keys(*keys_requested)
result = []
keys_requested.each do |key|
result << self[key]
end
return result
end
end
I modified the Hash class because I do plan to use it almost everywhere in my code.
But I don't really like the idea of modifying a core class. Is there a builtin solution instead? (couldn't find any, so I had to write this).
You should be able to use values_at:
values_at(key, ...) → array
Return an array containing the values associated with the given keys. Also see Hash.select.
h = { "cat" => "feline", "dog" => "canine", "cow" => "bovine" }
h.values_at("cow", "cat") #=> ["bovine", "feline"]
The documentation doesn't specifically say anything about the order of the returned array but:
The example implies that the array will match the key order.
The standard implementation does things in the right order.
There's no other sensible way for the method to behave.
For example:
>> h = { :a => 'a', :b => 'b', :c => 'c' }
=> {:a=>"a", :b=>"b", :c=>"c"}
>> h.values_at(:c, :a)
=> ["c", "a"]
i will suggest you do this:
your_hash.select{|key,value| given_keys.include?(key)}.values
In Perl to perform a hash update based on arrays of keys and values I can do something like:
#hash{'key1','key2','key3'} = ('val1','val2','val3');
In Ruby I could do something similar in a more complicated way:
hash.merge!(Hash[ *[['key1','key2','key3'],['val1','val2','val3']].transpose ])
OK but I doubt the effectivity of such procedure.
Now I would like to do a more complex assignment in a single line.
Perl example:
(#hash{'key1','key2','key3'}, $key4) = &some_function();
I have no idea if such a thing is possible in some simple Ruby way. Any hints?
For the Perl impaired, #hash{'key1','key2','key3'} = ('a', 'b', 'c') is a hash slice and is a shorthand for something like this:
$hash{'key1'} = 'a';
$hash{'key2'} = 'b';
$hash{'key3'} = 'c';
In Ruby 1.9 Hash.[] can take as its argument an array of two-valued arrays (in addition to the old behavior of a flat list of alternative key/value arguments). So it's relatively simple to do:
mash.merge!( Hash[ keys.zip(values) ] )
I do not know perl, so I'm not sure what your final "more complex assignment" is trying to do. Can you explain in words—or with the sample input and output—what you are trying to achieve?
Edit: based on the discussion in #fl00r's answer, you can do this:
def f(n)
# return n arguments
(1..n).to_a
end
h = {}
keys = [:a,:b,:c]
*vals, last = f(4)
h.merge!( Hash[ keys.zip(vals) ] )
p vals, last, h
#=> [1, 2, 3]
#=> 4
#=> {:a=>1, :b=>2, :c=>3}
The code *a, b = some_array will assign the last element to b and create a as an array of the other values. This syntax requires Ruby 1.9. If you require 1.8 compatibility, you can do:
vals = f(4)
last = vals.pop
h.merge!( Hash[ *keys.zip(vals).flatten ] )
You could redefine []= to support this:
class Hash
def []=(*args)
*keys, vals = args # if this doesn't work in your version of ruby, use "keys, vals = args[0...-1], args.last"
merge! Hash[keys.zip(vals.respond_to?(:each) ? vals : [vals])]
end
end
Now use
myhash[:key1, :key2, :key3] = :val1, :val2, :val3
# or
myhash[:key1, :key2, :key3] = some_method_returning_three_values
# or even
*myhash[:key1, :key2, :key3], local_var = some_method_returning_four_values
you can do this
def some_method
# some code that return this:
[{:key1 => 1, :key2 => 2, :key3 => 3}, 145]
end
hash, key = some_method
puts hash
#=> {:key1 => 1, :key2 => 2, :key3 => 3}
puts key
#=> 145
UPD
In Ruby you can do "parallel assignment", but you can't use hashes like you do in Perl (hash{:a, :b, :c)). But you can try this:
hash[:key1], hash[:key2], hash[:key3], key4 = some_method
where some_method returns an Array with 4 elements.
Example for array
arr = ["a", "b", "c"]
# TODO create an alias for arr[1] as x
x = "X"
# arr should be ["a", "X", "c"] here
Example for hash
hash = { :a => "aaa", :b => "bbb" , :c => "ccc" }
# TODO create an alias for hash[:b] as y
y = "YYY"
# hash should be { :a => "aaa", :b => "YYY" , :c => "ccc" } here
And also an alias for a variable?
var = 5
# TODO create an alias for var as z
z = 7
# var should be 7 here
Motivation: I have a big large deep construct of data, and you can imagine the rest. I want to use it in a read-only manner, but due to performance reasons copy is not permissible.
Metaphor: I want to choose context from a larger data structure and I want to access it with a short and simple name.
UPDATE: Problem solved as sepp2k advised. I just want to draw a summarizing picture here about the solution.
irb(main):001:0> arr = [ { "a" => 1, "b" => 2}, { "x" => 7, "y" => 8 } ]
=> [{"a"=>1, "b"=>2}, {"x"=>7, "y"=>8}]
irb(main):002:0> i = arr[0]
=> {"a"=>1, "b"=>2}
irb(main):004:0> j = arr[1]
=> {"x"=>7, "y"=>8}
irb(main):007:0> j["z"] = 9
=> 9
irb(main):008:0> j
=> {"x"=>7, "y"=>8, "z"=>9}
irb(main):009:0> arr
=> [{"a"=>1, "b"=>2}, {"x"=>7, "y"=>8, "z"=>9}]
What you want is not possible. There is no feature in ruby that you could use to make your examples work like you want.
However since you're saying you want to only use it read-only, there is no need for that. You can just do x = myNestedStructure[foo][bar][baz]. There will be no copying involved when you do that. Assignment does not copy the assigned object in ruby.
You would have to create a method that is your alias, which would update the data.
def y=(value)
arr[:b]=value
end
Then call it.
self.y="foo"
Edit: updated second code snippet.
I have two arrays, each holding arrays with attribute hashes.
Array1 => [[{attribute_1 = A}, {attribute_2 = B}], [{attribute_1 = A}, {attribute_4 = B}]]
Array2 => [{attribute_3 = C}, {attribute_2 = D}], [{attribute_3 = C, attribute_4 = D}]]
Each array in the array is holding attribute hashes for an object. In the above example, there are two objects that I'm working with. There are two attributes in each array for each of the two objects.
How do I merge the two arrays? I am trying to get a single array of 'object' arrays (there is no way to get a single array from the start because I have to make two different API calls to get these attributes).
DesiredArray => [[{attribute_1 = A, attribute_2 = B, attribute_3 = C, attribute_4 = D}],
[{attribute_1 = A, attribute_2 = B, attribute_3 = C, attribute_4 = D}]]
I've tried a couple things, including the iteration methods and the merge method, but I've been unable to get the array I need.
You seem to have parallel arrays of hashes. We can use zip to turn the parallel arrays into a single array of arrays of hashes. We can then map each array of hashes into a single hash using inject and merge:
#!/usr/bin/ruby1.8
require 'pp'
array1 = [{:attribute_1 => :A, :attribute_2 => :B}, {:attribute_1 => :A, :attribute_4 => :B}]
array2 = [{:attribute_3 => :C, :attribute_2 => :D}, {:attribute_3 => :C, :attribute_4 => :D}]
pp array1.zip(array2).collect { |array| array.inject(&:merge) }
# => [{:attribute_2=>:D, :attribute_1=>:A, :attribute_3=>:C},
# => {:attribute_4=>:D, :attribute_1=>:A, :attribute_3=>:C}]
I don't think my answer is valid anymore, since the question has been edited later.
Here, first I am fixing your array and hash notation in your question.
Array1 = [{'attribute_1' => 'A', 'attribute_2' => 'B'}, {'attribute_1' => 'A', 'attribute_2' => 'B'}]
#=> [{"attribute_1"=>"A", "attribute_2"=>"B"}, {"attribute_1"=>"A", "attribute_2"=>"B"}]
Array2 = [{'attribute_3' => 'C', 'attribute_2' => 'D'}, {'attribute_3' => 'C', 'attribute_4' => 'D'}]
#=> [{"attribute_2"=>"D", "attribute_3"=>"C"}, {"attribute_3"=>"C", "attribute_4"=>"D"}]
You can simply concatenate the two arrays to get your desired array like so:
DesiredArray = Array1+Array2
# => [{"attribute_1"=>"A", "attribute_2"=>"B"}, {"attribute_1"=>"A", "attribute_2"=>"B", {"attribute_2"=>"D", "attribute_3"=>"C"}, {"attribute_3"=>"C", "attribute_4"=>"D"}]