Toolkit.Operators

A small set of custom infix operators for maintaining a consistent, unidirectional coding style when working with lists, `Maybe` and `Result` values, and functions that take multiple arguments

At some point after I started working in Elm, it became clear to me that debugging, refactoring, and extending existing code would be a lot easier if I conventionalized some stylistic choices so that code blocks would always be formatted in a consistent way. The built-in functional operators in Elm allow for a lot of flexibility in how code is written, but some of that flexibility has to be reined in if we want to emphasize readability as a virtue in functional programming.

In constructing some stylistic rules for my own code, the principle I decided to prioritize is what I call unidirectionality: the idea that a programmer should be able to readily discern the sequence of function calls in a code block by visually scanning the code from top to bottom, and then from left to right.

According to this principle, the "data" — that is, the value or set of values that the function is called on — should always appear at the top of the code block, with functions called on the data appearing on subsequent lines. A nested series of function calls can appear on one line, but more complex code chunks should be broken up into self-contained functions using let..in statements. Nested list brackets and complex code chunks within list brackets should generally be avoided.

With the above principle, the |> operator is used very liberally, the >> operator is used only in rare cases, and there is no use case for "reverse" (right-to-left) functional operators. In addition to liberal use of the |> operator, I have found use cases for a small set of custom operators that help to maintain consistent visual formatting and enhance readability of code blocks by reducing clutter. I have included them here in one module so that I can easily import them into other projects.

Appending Things

(|++) : appendable -> appendable -> appendable

Append the RHS to the end of the LHS; equivalent to ++, but left-associative with precedence set to 0 (same as |>)

("ba" |> String.reverse) ++ "c"       --> "abc"
"ba" |> String.reverse ++ "c"         --> ERROR
"ba" |> String.reverse |++ "c"        --> "abc"

(|::) : List a -> a -> List a

Append the item on the RHS to the end of the list on the LHS

[1] |:: 2         --> [1,2]
[1] |:: 2 |:: 3   --> [1,2,3]

(:+:) : a -> a -> List a

Construct a list from the LHS and RHS; precedence is 5 and associativity is right (same as ++)

1 :+: 2   --> [1, 2]

Function Application

(||>) : a -> (a -> b) -> b

Forward function application with precedence set to 9. Allows you to avoid parentheses when you want the argument to appear before the function name in an inline expression.

1 ||> toString ++ 2 ||> toString    --> "12"

(.|>) : List a -> (a -> b) -> List b

Forward operator for List.map

[1,4,9] .|> sqrt    --> [1,2,3]

(:|>) : a -> (List a -> b) -> b

Wrap LHS in a list, then apply RHS function

1 :|> List.head   --> Just 1

Error Handling with `Maybe` and `Result` Values

(?=) : Maybe a -> a -> a

Forward operator for Maybe.withDefault

Just 42 ?= 100    --> 42
Nothing ?= 100    --> 100

(!=) : Result x a -> a -> a

Forward operator for Result.withDefault

String.toInt "123" != 0   --> 123
String.toInt "abc" != 0   --> 0

(?|>) : Maybe a -> (a -> b) -> Maybe b

Forward operator for Maybe.map

Just 9 ?|> sqrt     --> Just 3
Nothing ?|> sqrt    --> Nothing

(!|>) : Result x a -> (a -> value) -> Result x value

Forward operator for Result.map

Ok 4.0 !|> sqrt             --> Ok 2.0
Err "bad input" !|> sqrt    --> Err "bad input"

Uncurry Operators

(@@|>) : ( a, b ) -> (a -> b -> c) -> c

Forward operator for uncurry with 2 parameters

(1,2) @@|> (+)    --> 3

(@@@|>) : ( a, b, c ) -> (a -> b -> c -> d) -> d

Forward operator for uncurry with 3 parameters

(10, 20, 30) @@@|> clamp    --> 20

danielnarey/elm-toolkit/2.1.0

Toolkit.Operators

A small set of custom infix operators for maintaining a consistent, unidirectional coding style when working with lists, `Maybe` and `Result` values, and functions that take multiple arguments

Appending Things

Function Application

Error Handling with `Maybe` and `Result` Values

Uncurry Operators

Modules

danielnarey/elm-toolkit/2.1.0

Toolkit.Operators

A small set of custom infix operators for maintaining a consistent, unidirectional coding style when working with lists, Maybe and Result values, and functions that take multiple arguments

Appending Things

Function Application

Error Handling with Maybe and Result Values

Uncurry Operators

Modules

A small set of custom infix operators for maintaining a consistent, unidirectional coding style when working with lists, `Maybe` and `Result` values, and functions that take multiple arguments

Error Handling with `Maybe` and `Result` Values