Pattern match on same argument multiple times in named functions

Questions / Help
,
1

In an anonymous function you can pattern match on same argument multiple times


color_of = fn
  "fire" ->
    IO.puts "red"

  "water" ->
    IO.puts "blue"

  "grass" ->
    IO.puts "green"

  _ ->
    IO.puts "dunno"
end

color_of.("fire")

Can this be done in a named function?

2

You can have multiple named functions definitions:

def color_of("fire"), do: IO.puts "red"
def color_of("water"), do: IO.puts "blue"
def color_of("grass"), do: IO.puts "green"
def color_of(_), do: IO.puts "dunno"

color_of("fire")
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3

Also, when you have multiple clauses, you can have a header where you attach the @spec and @doc annotations:

@doc "Outputs color of given material according to magic rules"
@spec color_of(String.t()) :: :ok
def color_of(material)

def color_of("fire"), do: IO.puts "red"
def color_of("water"), do: IO.puts "blue"
def color_of("grass"), do: IO.puts "green"
def color_of(_), do: IO.puts "dunno"
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4

Response on point, but I should have mentioned I had considered this option which is more verbose due to function name duplication. I am guessing this is the idiomatic approach however?

Even more verbose but definitely makes it self-documenting, even without the @doc and @spec.

Can we confirm this is idiomatic elixir ?

5

Indeed, it is idiomatic. Have a look at Elixir’s Enum module, for example: elixir/enum.ex at v1.11.3 · elixir-lang/elixir · GitHub

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6

A similar question was asked last week, you may be interested in checking it out.
https://elixirforum.com/t/suggestion-implicit-case-block-in-functions/37135

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7

Yes, this is idiomatic Elixir.

The function names aren’t duplicates; think of them as separate arms of a huge case clause (because they get compiled to exactly that).

It’s a readability convenience that hacks our brain’s ability to perceive separate written blocks as separate semantic units.

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