PartialFunctions
This is a small Julia package that makes partial function application as simple as possible
Usage
To apply an argument x to a function f, use the $ binary operator like so
julia> f $ x
f(x, ...)To apply multiple arguments, wrap them in a Tuple, like you would a normal function call
julia> f $ (x, y, z)
f(x, y, z, ...)julia> f = println $ (("This is", "a Tuple"),)
println(("This is", "a Tuple"), ...)
julia> f(", and this is an additional argument")
("This is", "a Tuple"), and this is an additional argumentYou can add keyword arguments by passing a NamedTuple
julia> sort_by_length = sort $ (;by = length)
sort(...; by = length, ...)
julia> sort_by_length([[1,2,3], [1,2]])
2-element Vector{Vector{Int64}}:
[1, 2]
[1, 2, 3]You can pass arguments and keyword arguments at the same time
julia> a = [[1,2,3], [1,2]];
julia> sort_a_by_length = sort $ (a, (;by = length))
sort([[1, 2, 3], [1, 2]], ...; by = length, ...)
julia> sort_a_by_length()
2-element Vector{Vector{Int64}}:
[1, 2]
[1, 2, 3]You can also pass a tuple of arguments to this form, or pass the args first then the keyword args second to reduce the number of parentheses. Care must be taken here to avoid unintended results.
# These are equivalent
sort $ a $ (;by = length)
sort $ (a, (;by = length))
sort $ ((a,), (;by = length))
# These are incorrect, or will yield unintended results
julia> sort $ (a, by = length)
sort(..., a = [[1,2,3], [1,2]], by = length) # a treated as part of NamedTuple
julia> sort $ (a; by = length)
sort(length, ... ) # the argument is an expression that evaluates to 'length'Examples
julia> using PartialFunctions
julia> a(x) = x^2
a (generic function with 1 method)
julia> f = map $ a
map(a, ...)
julia> f([1,2,3])
3-element Array{Int64,1}:
1
4
9julia> simonsays = println $ "Simon says: "
println("Simon says: ", ...)
julia> simonsays("Partial function application is cool!")
Simon says: Partial function application is cool!The Reverse Pipe
PartialFunctions also exports the <|, or "reverse pipe" operator, which can be used to apply the arguments succeeding it to the function preceding it. This operator has low precedence, making it useful when chaining function calls if one wants to avoid a lot of parentheses
Here's an extremely contrived example to add a bunch of numbers together
julia> (+) $ 2 $ 3 $ 5 $ 10 <| 12
32Unlike the normal pipe (|>), it can also be used with tuples of arguments
julia> (+) <| (1, 2)...
3Passing an empty tuple calls the preceding function with zero arguments
julia> a = isequal $ (1, 2)
isequal(1, 2, ...)
julia> isequal $ (1, 2) <| () # equivalent to a() or isequal(1, 2)
false