Vocabulary/hatco
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[x] u^:n y Fixed Power Conjunction
Rank Infinity -- operates on [x and] y as a whole -- WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Note: x u^:n y is equivalent to (x&u)^:n y and will be discussed with the latter construct.
Applies verb u (or x&u, if dyadic) to y, n times. This may be interpreted as If or Inverse depending on n.
Common Uses
1. Conditionally execute a verb (eg. to save writing an if.-statement):
flag=: 1 'Mr. ' ,^:flag 'Jones' Mr. Jones flag=: 0 'Mr. ' ,^:flag 'Jones' Jones
2. Execute the obverse (which is usually the inverse) of a verb:
+: 14 NB. "Double" 28 (+: ^:_1) 14 NB. the obverse of "Double" is "Halve" 7
See u^:v for the Do-While construct.
More Information
u^:Boolean If
If n is 0 or 1, it has a simple interpretation: if n=1, u is applied to y, while if n=0, y is left unchanged. I.e. ^:n can be interpreted as If n.
NB. Get the number of days in the current month; add 1 if February in leapyear. *. = AND
leapyear =: 1
month =: 2
]dayinmonth =: >:^:(leapyear *. month = 2) month { 0 31 28 31 30 31 30 31 31 30 31 30 31
29
month =: 3
]dayinmonth =: >:^:(leapyear *. month = 2) month { 0 31 28 31 30 31 30 31 31 30 31 30 31
31
The advantage of u^:n over if.-do.-end. is that u^:n is a phrase rather than a sentence, and can thus be made part of a longer phrase or a sentence without requiring multiple sentences.
u^:_1 (Inverse, aka Obverse)
If n is _1, it means "undo the effect of applying u." In J, this means to apply the obverse, which is the inverse of the verb unless an obverse has been explicitly assigned using u :.v.
>: 5 NB. >: means add one 6 >:^:_1 (6) NB. The inverse means subtract one 5
u^:_ (Converge)
u^:_ means "apply u until the result stops changing".
+/ i. 4 5 NB. +/ = 'add items together'. Add rows to produce a list 30 34 38 42 46 +/ +/ i. 4 5 NB. Doing it twice results in an atom 190 +/^:_ i. 4 5 NB. 'keep totaling until you get an atom' 190 +/^:_ i. 4 5 6 NB. works for any rank 7140
Usually u^:_ is combined with u^:v, as described below.
Other Values of n
Other values of n are rarely used.
• Example: Parsing HTML
Given: Table Structure and Content.
mytable=: 0 : 0 <table ...> <tr ...>-1----------row1----------------1-</tr> <tr ...>-2----------row2-----------------------------2-</tr> <tr ...>-3----------row3---------------------3-</tr> </table> ) dataypte mytable literal
Task: Parse the table and pick content of Row2.
Hint: Script strings.ijs (providing dyadic verbs taketo and takeafter) is part of the J standard library.
y=. mytable; '<tr' takeafter y NB. aiming at start of 1st row ...>-1----------row1----------------1-</tr> <tr ...>-2----------row2-----------------------------2-</tr> <tr ...>-3----------row3---------------------3-</tr> </table> '<tr' takeafter(^:2) y NB. after two cuts, near Row2 ...>-2----------row2-----------------------------2-</tr> <tr ...>-3----------row3---------------------3-</tr> </table> '>' takeafter '<tr' takeafter(^:2) y NB. cut (including) closing bracket -2----------row2-----------------------------2-</tr> <tr ...>------------row3---------------------3-</tr> </table> '</tr' taketo '>' takeafter '<tr' takeafter(^:2) y NB. Row2's content, as requested -2----------row2-----------------------------2-
Details
Array n
1. When n is an array, u^:a is executed for each atom a in n, and the results are then collected into an array whose frame is the shape of n
*:^:(0 1 2 3) 5 NB. 5, 5^2, (5^2)^2, ((5^2)^2)^2 5 25 625 390625
2. n may not be empty.
Boxed Numeric n -- decoding variable-length records
The main use for boxed n is separating variable-length records.
When n is boxed, the contents of n must be an atom or empty. The results from executing u on y repeatedly are collected into a list of results.
If >n is finite, u^:n executes u ((>n)-1) times, collecting the results from each execution (if >n is negative, u^:_1 is executed ((->n)-1) times). The original value of y is collected as the first item of the result. Thus
*:^:(<4) 5 NB. same as *:^:0 1 2 3 5 25 625 390625
If >n is _ or empty, u is repeatedly executed until the result stops changing. All the results are collected into an array. Since a: is <0$0, it is used for n in this case
(0 >. <:)^:a: 5 NB. Decrement, but not below 0 5 4 3 2 1 0
Gerund n
When n is a gerund, it specifies preprocessing for the arguments, as well as a verb for calculating the value of n to use. After these steps have been performed, u^:n is applied as usual.
Gerund n is necessary only in tacit code. Inside the body of an explicit verb you could just write out the equivalent for the gerund.
The gerund form is
x u^:(v0`v1`v2)y <==> (x v0 y)u^:(x v1 y) (x v2 y)
The three verbs are applied to the arguments, producing the values to be used for x, n, and y respectively.
'Mr.' ,^:((<@[)`(1 = #@])`]) <'Jones' NB. Prepend boxed x if y has 1 atom +---+-----+ |Mr.|Jones| +---+-----+ 'Mr.' ,^:((<@[)`(1 = #@])`]) 'Harry';'Jones' +-----+-----+ |Harry|Jones| +-----+-----+
If v0 is omitted, it is assumed to be ([) i.e. x is used unchanged.
If the use of u^:gerund is monadic, v0 must be omitted (since there is no x), and v1 and v2 are invoked monadically.
u^:(v`]) is the same as u^:v.
[x] u^:v y Dynamic Power Conjunction
Rank Infinity -- operates on [x and] y as a whole -- WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Note: x u^:v y is equivalent to (x&u)^:(x v y) y and will be discussed with the latter construct.
If x is present
- (x u^:v y) applies verb x&u to y n times, where n is the result of (x v y)
- The number of times n that u is executed therefore depends on the values of the arguments x and y .
If x is absent
- (u^:v y) applies verb u to y n times, where n is the result of (v y)
- The number of times n that u is executed therefore depends on the value of the single argument y .
This yields the data-dependent constructs
Common Uses
1. Modify y based on the value(s) of [x] and y (see: Dynamic If)
'.' (~: {:) 'Mr' NB. Returns 1 if y does not end with x (.)
1
'.' ,~ 'Mr' NB. append x to the end of y
Mr.
'.' ,~^:(~: {:) 'Mr' NB. append IF y does not end with x
Mr.
'.' ,~^:(~: {:) 'Mrs.'
Mrs.
'.' ,~^:(~: {:)&.> 'Mr';'Mrs.';'Jack';'Sprat' NB. Test & modify inside each box separately
+---+----+-----+------+
|Mr.|Mrs.|Jack.|Sprat.|
+---+----+-----+------+
2. Execute a verb repeatedly, until a condition is reached (see: Do-While)
_2&(+/\) 3 1 4 1 5 9 2 6 NB. This verb adds adjacent items: 3+1, 4+1, 5+9, 2+6 4 5 14 8 _2&(+/\) 45 30 5 7 22 12 40 55 NB. Applied once 75 12 34 95 _2&(+/\)^:2 (45 30 5 7 22 12 40 55) NB. Applied twice 87 129 _2&(+/\)^:(100 > >./)^:_ (45 30 5 7 22 12 40 55) NB. applied while max of y < 100 87 129 _2&(+/\)^:(50 > >./)^:_ (45 30 5 7 22 12 40 55) NB. applied while max of y < 50 45 30 5 7 22 12 40 55
Related Primitives
Agenda ([x] u@.v y)
More Information
Dynamic If
This is the construct: (u^:v y) or: (x u^:v y)
The advantage of u^:v over if.-do.-end. is that u^:v can be executed on cells of an array rather than the array as a whole.
Execution on cells will happen if you combine u^:v with rank ("n) or use a member of the @ family (@, &, &., each, every).
If you need Dynamic If on the array as a whole, just use the u^:n form.
The control word if. (which tests a single condition) can't provide cell-by-cell control.
+: 5 NB. means: double 10 +:^:(6&<) 12 NB. means: double IF y>6 24 +:^:(6&<)"0 (0 3 6 12) NB. means: double only atoms that are > 6 0 3 6 24
In the dyadic case, both u and v are invoked dyadically
3!:0 'Smith' NB. 3!:0 tests the type of y. 2=literal 2 3!:0 (5) NB. 4=integer 4 'Mr. ' ,^:(2 = 3!:0@]) 'Smith' NB. Prepend 'Mr.' IF y is a string Mr. Smith 'Mr. ' ,^:(2 = 3!:0@]) 5 NB. Otherwise leave y unchanged 5
Note: 3!:0@] was necessary, because 'Mr. ' 3!:0 'Smith' would have been a domain error.
Dyadic execution means that x and y must agree, which is sometimes problematic
'Mr. ' ,^:(2 = 3!:0@])&.> 'Smith';5;'Jones';10;'Williams';15 |length error | 'Mr. ' ,^:(2=3!:0@])&.>'Smith';5;'Jones';10;'Williams';15
The problem is that x has 4 atoms but y has 6 atoms.
Workaround: Use: x&u^:v rather than: x u@:v. Then the verb as a whole is no longer dyadic.
Note: Because of the long left scope of modifiers, x&u^:v is the same as: (x&u)^:v
'Mr. '&,^:(2 = 3!:0@])&.> 'Smith';5;'Jones';10;'Williams';15 +---------+-+---------+--+------------+--+ |Mr. Smith|5|Mr. Jones|10|Mr. Williams|15| +---------+-+---------+--+------------+--+
Do-While
This is the construct: (u^:v^:_ y) or: (x u^:v^:_ y)
- Verb v must always produce a Boolean result.
- Verb u is executed repeatedly until v returns 0 or u returns its argument unchanged.
Do-While can be executed independently on cells of the arguments if you combine it with Rank ("n) or use a member of the @ family (@, &, &., each, every).
Despite its name, Do-While is very rarely used in J. Almost all looping is done using the other modifiers.
3&*^:(100 > ])^:_ (5) NB. triple y while it is less than 100 135 3&*^:(100 > ])^:_"0 (5 6 7 20) NB. same, but test each atom independently 135 162 189 180
Use These Combinations
Combinations using u^:v that have exceptionally good performance include:
What it does Type;
Precisions;
RanksSyntax Variants;
Restrictions
Benefits;
Bug Warnings
Find ordinal numbers of y (the relative rank of each item of y in the sort order /:@/: y note \: is not special better than /:^:2 y Follow a chain of variable-length records integer x and y {&x^:a: y
x {~^:a: y
<_ in place of a: Produces list of starting positions. Limit all values of x to at most #x, then append _1 to the end of x. Discard the final starting position of _1. Monadic power whose power depends on x x f@]^:g y
(f is any verb)
Applies f rather than x&(f@]) (very small improvement)