Re: on passing arguments to a function, how to break a list into
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg103743] Re: on passing arguments to a function, how to break a list into
- From: David Reiss <dbreiss at gmail.com>
- Date: Sun, 4 Oct 2009 05:37:39 -0400 (EDT)
- References: <ha7hvj$5qe$1@smc.vnet.net>
goo[Sequence @@ foo[]]
--David
On Oct 3, 9:01 am, "Nasser Abbasi" <n... at 12000.org> wrote:
> Suppose there is a function foo[] which returns back 2 items, say 'i' and
> 'j'. They must be returned as a list ofcourse, so we have this
>
> foo[] := Module[{i, j},
> i = 3;
> j = 7;
> {i, j}
> ]
>
> Now I have another function goo[] which accepts 2 items as input, and does
> something with them, as in
>
> goo[i_, j_] := Module[{},
> i + j
> ]
>
> Now I'd like to call foo[], and take its output, and pass it to directly to
> goo[], but I can NOT do the following:
>
> goo[foo[]]
>
> because there is no function goo[] which accept a list defined. I could
> solve this easily by making an intermediate step
>
> {i, j} = foo[]; (*first read into local variables*)
> goo[i, j] (* then call goo[] *)
>
> I tried to see if it is possible to eliminate this intermediate step, as it
> could be unnecessary, and see if there is a function or a trick in
> Mathematica which takes a list and 'unwrap' it for the purpose of making
> function calls.
>
> Assuming such a function or method, lets call it 'W' for now, then I would
> just type
>
> goo[ W[foo[]]]
>
> Where W[] would take output from a function, and if it is a list, would
> break it down to its sublists, so that goo[ W[foo[]] ] would be conver ted
> to goo[ i,j ]. This W[] function would only ofcourse work in the context
> of function calls, as it does not make sense to write
>
> W[{1,2}] and expect to get just "1,2" like this, without these being
> grouped in a List[]. So this function W is means only to work in argument
> passing.
>
> I can also solve this easily by making goo[] accepts a list, but I wanted to
> avoid having to type this:
>
> goo[arg_List] := Module[{},
> arg[[1]] + arg[[2]]
> ]
>
> I think writing "i+j" is more clear than writing " arg[[1]] + arg[[2]]",
> that is why I am asking this question.
>
> I wish Mathematica has named arguments? or structs, so I could write
>
> goo[arg_Struct] := Module[{},
> arg.i + arg.j
> ]
>
> Any ideas?
>
> Thank you,
> --Nasser
>
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