Structs for a toy robot

Questions / Help
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1

@directions_to_the_right %{north: :east, east: :south, south: :west, west: :north}
def right(%ToyRobot.Position{facing: facing} = robot) do
%ToyRobot.Position{robot | facing: @directions_to_the_right[facing]}
end

This is the code. Normally in elixir we define structs like-
%Structname{key:value}
But here what is the significance of this @ and % after Struct’s name

2

Here’s the syntax highlighted code:

@directions_to_the_right %{north: :east, east: :south, south: :west, west: :north}
def right(%ToyRobot.Position{facing: facing} = robot) do
%ToyRobot.Position{robot | facing: @directions_to_the_right[facing]}
end

That’s how you might initialise a struct. In order to define a struct, you use defstuct

The @ is used to assign a module attribute, so @directions_to_the_right is a module attribute.

This

%{north: :east, east: :south, south: :west, west: :north}

however is a map and not a struct.

In

%ToyRobot.Position{robot | facing: @directions_to_the_right[facing]}

We are updating the value of the facing key, but accessing the value of the direction to the right from @directions_to_the_right.

For more info and structs and maps see:

https://elixir-lang.org/getting-started/keywords-and-maps.html

https://elixir-lang.org/getting-started/structs.html

3

Modules attributes (@directions_to_the_right in this case) are just conveniences. They are replaced at compile time (known as macro in other languages). They cannot be accessed once the module has been compiled.