Create array (%[]) constructor

Quickly generate arrays

Description

%[] is a way of defining arrays in expressions and statements. Whenever a %[] array is outputted as a string, it will be converted to minified JSON.

Array elements inside %[] can be whitespace and/or comma delimited. This allows for compatibility with both Bash muscle memory, and people more familiar with JSON.

Additionally you can also embed a style parameters inside %[] arrays too.

Like with YAML, strings in %[] do not need to be quoted unless you need to force numeric or boolean looking values to be stored as strings.

Examples

Arrays passed as a JSON string:

» echo %[1..3]
[1,2,3]

» %[1..3] -> cat
[1,2,3]

Different supported syntax for creating a numeric array:

As a range

» %[1..3]
[
    1,
    2,
    3
]

JSON formatted

» %[1,2,3]
[
    1,
    2,
    3
]

Whitespace separated

» %[1 2 3]
[
    1,
    2,
    3
]

Values and ranges

» %[1,2..3]
[
    1,
    2,
    3
]

Strings:

barewords and whitespace separated

This will allow you to copy/paste lists from traditional shells like Bash

» %[foo bar]
[
    "foo",
    "bar"
]

JSON formatted

» %["foo", "bar"]
[
    "foo",
    "bar"
]

Special ranges

» %[June..August]
[
    "June",
    "July",
    "August"
]

A full list of special ranges are available at docs/mkarray/special

Multiple expansion blocks:

» %[[A,B]:[1..4]]
[
    "A:1",
    "A:2",
    "A:3",
    "A:4",
    "B:1",
    "B:2",
    "B:3",
    "B:4"
]

Nested arrays:

» %[foo [bar]]
[
    "foo",
    [
        "bar"
    ]
]

The % prefix for the nested array is optional.

JSON objects within arrays

» %[foo {bar: baz}]
[
    "foo",
    {
        "bar": "baz"
    }
]

The % prefix for the nested object is optional.

Detail

Murex supports a number of different formats that can be used to generate arrays. For more details on these please refer to the documents for each format

• Calendar Date Ranges: Create arrays of dates
• Character arrays: Making character arrays (a to z)
• Decimal Ranges: Create arrays of decimal integers
• Non-Decimal Ranges: Create arrays of integers from non-decimal number bases
• Special Ranges: Create arrays from ranges of dictionary terms (eg weekdays, months, seasons, etc)

See Also

• Brace Quote (%(, )) Tokens: Initiates or terminates a string (variables expanded)
• Create object (%{}) constructor: Quickly generate objects and maps
• Double Quote (") Token: Initiates or terminates a string (variables expanded)
• Single Quote (') Token: Initiates or terminates a string (variables not expanded)
• Special Ranges: Create arrays from ranges of dictionary terms (eg weekdays, months, seasons, etc)
• a (mkarray): A sophisticated yet simple way to build an array or list
• expr: Expressions: mathematical, string comparisons, logical operators
• ja (mkarray): A sophisticated yet simply way to build a JSON array
• ta (mkarray): A sophisticated yet simple way to build an array of a user defined data-type