pure/List

Purely-functional, singly-linked lists. A list of type List<T> is either null or an optional pair of a value of type T and a tail, itself of type List<T>.

To use this library, import it using:

motoko name=initialize
import List "mo:base/List";

type List<T> = Types.Pure.List<T>

public func empty<T>() : List<T>

Create an empty list.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.empty<Nat>() // => null

Runtime: O(1)

Space: O(1)

public func isEmpty<T>(list : List<T>) : Bool

Check whether a list is empty and return true if the list is empty.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.isEmpty<Nat>(null) // => true

Runtime: O(1)

Space: O(1)

public func size<T>(list : List<T>) : Nat

Return the length of the list.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.size<Nat>(?(0, ?(1, null))) // => 2

Runtime: O(size)

Space: O(1)

public func contains<T>(
  list : List<T>,
  equal : (T, T) -> Bool,
  item : T
) : Bool

Check whether the list contains a given value. Uses the provided equality function to compare values.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
import Nat "mo:base/Nat";
List.contains<Nat>(?(1, ?(2, ?(3, null))), Nat.equal, 2) // => true

Runtime: O(size)

Space: O(1)

*Runtime and space assumes that equal runs in O(1) time and space.

public func get<T>(list : List<T>, n : Nat) : ?T

Access any item in a list, zero-based.

NOTE: Indexing into a list is a linear operation, and usually an indication that a list might not be the best data structure to use.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.get<Nat>(?(0, ?(1, null)), 1) // => ?1

Runtime: O(size)

Space: O(1)

public func pushFront<T>(list : List<T>, item : T) : List<T>

Add item to the head of list, and return the new list.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.push<Nat>(null, 0) // => ?(0, null);

Runtime: O(1)

Space: O(1)

public func last<T>(list : List<T>) : ?T

Return the last element of the list, if present. Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.last<Nat>(?(0, ?(1, null))) // => ?1

Runtime: O(size)

Space: O(1)

public func popFront<T>(list : List<T>) : (?T, List<T>)

Remove the head of the list, returning the optioned head and the tail of the list in a pair. Returns (null, null) if the list is empty.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.pop<Nat>(?(0, ?(1, null))) // => (?0, ?(1, null))

Runtime: O(1)

Space: O(1)

public func reverse<T>(list : List<T>) : List<T>

Reverses the list.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.reverse<Nat>(?(0, ?(1, ?(2, null)))) // => ?(2, ?(1, ?(0, null)))

Runtime: O(size)

Space: O(size)

public func forEach<T>(list : List<T>, f : T -> ())

Call the given function for its side effect, with each list element in turn.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
var sum = 0;
List.forEach<Nat>(?(0, ?(1, ?(2, null))), func n = sum += n);
sum // => 3

Runtime: O(size)

Space: O(size)

*Runtime and space assumes that f runs in O(1) time and space.

public func map<T1, T2>(list : List<T1>, f : T1 -> T2) : List<T2>

Call the given function f on each list element and collect the results in a new list.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
import Nat = "mo:base/Nat"
List.map<Nat, Text>(?(0, ?(1, ?(2, null))), Nat.toText) // => ?("0", ?("1", ?("2", null))

Runtime: O(size)

Space: O(size) *Runtime and space assumes that f runs in O(1) time and space.

public func filter<T>(list : List<T>, f : T -> Bool) : List<T>

Create a new list with only those elements of the original list for which the given function (often called the predicate) returns true.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.filter<Nat>(?(0, ?(1, ?(2, null))), func n = n != 1) // => ?(0, ?(2, null))

Runtime: O(size)

Space: O(size)

public func filterMap<T, R>(list : List<T>, f : T -> ?R) : List<R>

Call the given function on each list element, and collect the non-null results in a new list.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.filterMap<Nat, Nat>(
  ?(1, ?(2, ?(3, null))),
  func n = if (n > 1) ?(n * 2) else null
) // => ?(4, ?(6, null))

Runtime: O(size)

Space: O(size)

*Runtime and space assumes that f runs in O(1) time and space.

public func mapResult<T, R, E>(list : List<T>, f : T -> Result.Result<R, E>) : Result.Result<List<R>, E>

Maps a Result-returning function f over a List and returns either the first error or a list of successful values.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.mapResult<Nat, Nat, Text>(
  ?(1, ?(2, ?(3, null))),
  func n = if (n > 0) #ok(n * 2) else #err "Some element is zero"
) // => #ok ?(2, ?(4, ?(6, null))

Runtime: O(size)

Space: O(size)

*Runtime and space assumes that f runs in O(1) time and space.

public func partition<T>(list : List<T>, f : T -> Bool) : (List<T>, List<T>)

Create two new lists from the results of a given function (f). The first list only includes the elements for which the given function f returns true and the second list only includes the elements for which the function returns false.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.partition<Nat>(?(0, ?(1, ?(2, null))), func n = n != 1) // => (?(0, ?(2, null)), ?(1, null))

Runtime: O(size)

Space: O(size)

*Runtime and space assumes that f runs in O(1) time and space.

public func concat<T>(list1 : List<T>, list2 : List<T>) : List<T>

Append the elements from one list to another list.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.concat<Nat>(
  ?(0, ?(1, ?(2, null))),
  ?(3, ?(4, ?(5, null)))
) // => ?(0, ?(1, ?(2, ?(3, ?(4, ?(5, null))))))

Runtime: O(size(l))

Space: O(size(l))

public func join<T>(iter : Iter.Iter<List<T>>) : List<T>

Flatten, or repatedly concatenate, an iterator of lists as a list.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.join<Nat>(
  [ ?(0, ?(1, ?(2, null))),
    ?(3, ?(4, ?(5, null))) ] |> Iter.fromArray _)
); // => ?(0, ?(1, ?(2, ?(3, ?(4, ?(5, null))))))

Runtime: O(size*size)

Space: O(size*size)

public func flatten<T>(list : List<List<T>>) : List<T>

Flatten, or repatedly concatenate, a list of lists as a list.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.flatten<Nat>(
  ?(?(0, ?(1, ?(2, null))),
    ?(?(3, ?(4, ?(5, null))),
      null))
); // => ?(0, ?(1, ?(2, ?(3, ?(4, ?(5, null))))))

Runtime: O(size*size)

Space: O(size*size)

public func take<T>(list : List<T>, n : Nat) : List<T>

Returns the first n elements of the given list. If the given list has fewer than n elements, this function returns a copy of the full input list.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.take<Nat>(
  ?(0, ?(1, ?(2, null))),
  2
); // => ?(0, ?(1, null))

Runtime: O(n)

Space: O(n)

public func drop<T>(list : List<T>, n : Nat) : List<T>

Drop the first n elements from the given list.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.drop<Nat>(
  ?(0, ?(1, ?(2, null))),
  2
); // => ?(2, null)

Runtime: O(n)

Space: O(1)

public func foldLeft<T, A>(
  list : List<T>,
  base : A,
  combine : (A, T) -> A
) : A

Collapses the elements in list into a single value by starting with base and progessively combining elements into base with combine. Iteration runs left to right.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
import Nat "mo:base/Nat";

List.foldLeft<Nat, Text>(
  ?(1, ?(2, ?(3, null))),
  "",
  func (acc, x) = acc # Nat.toText(x)
) // => "123"

Runtime: O(size(list))

Space: O(1) heap, O(1) stack

*Runtime and space assumes that combine runs in O(1) time and space.

public func foldRight<T, A>(
  list : List<T>,
  base : A,
  combine : (T, A) -> A
) : A

Collapses the elements in buffer into a single value by starting with base and progessively combining elements into base with combine. Iteration runs right to left.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
import Nat "mo:base/Nat";

List.foldRight<Nat, Text>(
  ?(1, ?(2, ?(3, null))),
  "",
  func (x, acc) = Nat.toText(x) # acc
) // => "123"

Runtime: O(size(list))

Space: O(1) heap, O(size(list)) stack

*Runtime and space assumes that combine runs in O(1) time and space.

public func find<T>(list : List<T>, f : T -> Bool) : ?T

Return the first element for which the given predicate f is true, if such an element exists.

Example:

motoko include=initialize

List.find<Nat>(
  ?(1, ?(2, ?(3, null))),
  func n = n > 1
); // => ?2

Runtime: O(size)

Space: O(1)

*Runtime and space assumes that f runs in O(1) time and space.

public func all<T>(list : List<T>, f : T -> Bool) : Bool

Return true if the given predicate f is true for all list elements.

Example:

motoko include=initialize

List.all<Nat>(
  ?(1, ?(2, ?(3, null))),
  func n = n > 1
); // => false

Runtime: O(size)

Space: O(1)

*Runtime and space assumes that f runs in O(1) time and space.

public func any<T>(list : List<T>, f : T -> Bool) : Bool

Return true if there exists a list element for which the given predicate f is true.

Example:

motoko include=initialize

List.any<Nat>(
  ?(1, ?(2, ?(3, null))),
  func n = n > 1
) // => true

Runtime: O(size(list))

Space: O(1)

*Runtime and space assumes that f runs in O(1) time and space.

public func merge<T>(
  list1 : List<T>,
  list2 : List<T>,
  compare : (T, T) -> Order.Order
) : List<T>

Merge two ordered lists into a single ordered list. This function requires both list to be ordered as specified by the given relation compare.

Example:

motoko include=initialize

List.merge<Nat>(
  ?(1, ?(2, ?(4, null))),
  ?(2, ?(4, ?(6, null))),
  Nat.compare
); // => ?(1, ?(2, ?(2, ?(4, ?(4, ?(6, null))))))),

Runtime: O(size(l1) + size(l2))

Space: O(size(l1) + size(l2))

*Runtime and space assumes that lessThanOrEqual runs in O(1) time and space.

public func equal<T>(
  list1 : List<T>,
  list2 : List<T>,
  equalItem : (T, T) -> Bool
) : Bool

Check if two lists are equal using the given equality function to compare elements.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
import Nat "mo:base/Nat";
List.equal<Nat>(?(1, ?(2, null)), ?(1, ?(2, null)), Nat.equal) // => true

Runtime: O(size)

Space: O(1)

*Runtime and space assumes that equalItem runs in O(1) time and space.

public func compare<T>(
  list1 : List<T>,
  list2 : List<T>,
  compareItem : (T, T) -> Order.Order
) : Order.Order

Compare two lists using lexicographic ordering specified by argument function compareItem.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
import Nat "mo:base/Nat";

List.compare<Nat>(
  ?(1, ?(2, null)),
  ?(3, ?(4, null)),
  Nat.compare
) // => #less

Runtime: O(size(l1))

Space: O(1)

*Runtime and space assumes that argument compare runs in O(1) time and space.

public func tabulate<T>(n : Nat, f : Nat -> T) : List<T>

Generate a list based on a length and a function that maps from a list index to a list element.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.tabulate<Nat>(
  3,
  func n = n * 2
) // => ?(0, ?(2, (?4, null)))

Runtime: O(n)

Space: O(n)

*Runtime and space assumes that f runs in O(1) time and space.

public func singleton<T>(item : T) : List<T>

Create a list with exactly one element.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.singleton<Nat>(
  0
) // => ?(0, null)

Runtime: O(1)

Space: O(1)

public func repeat<T>(item : T, n : Nat) : List<T>

Create a list of the given length with the same value in each position.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.repeat<Nat>(
  3,
  0
) // => ?(0, ?(0, ?(0, null)))

Runtime: O(n)

Space: O(n)

public func zip<T, U>(list1 : List<T>, list2 : List<U>) : List<(T, U)>

Create a list of pairs from a pair of lists.

If the given lists have different lengths, then the created list will have a length equal to the length of the smaller list.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.zip<Nat, Text>(
  ?(0, ?(1, ?(2, null))),
  ?("0", ?("1", null)),
) // => ?((0, "0"), ?((1, "1"), null))

Runtime: O(min(size(xs), size(ys)))

Space: O(min(size(xs), size(ys)))

public func zipWith<T, U, V>(
  list1 : List<T>,
  list2 : List<U>,
  f : (T, U) -> V
) : List<V>

Create a list in which elements are created by applying function f to each pair (x, y) of elements occuring at the same position in list xs and list ys.

If the given lists have different lengths, then the created list will have a length equal to the length of the smaller list.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
import Nat = "mo:base/Nat";
import Char = "mo:base/Char";

List.zipWith<Nat, Char, Text>(
  ?(0, ?(1, ?(2, null))),
  ?('a', ?('b', null)),
  func (n, c) = Nat.toText(n) # Char.toText(c)
) // => ?("0a", ?("1b", null))

Runtime: O(min(size(xs), size(ys)))

Space: O(min(size(xs), size(ys)))

*Runtime and space assumes that f runs in O(1) time and space.

public func split<T>(list : List<T>, n : Nat) : (List<T>, List<T>)

Split the given list at the given zero-based index.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.split<Nat>(
  2,
  ?(0, ?(1, ?(2, null)))
) // => (?(0, ?(1, null)), ?(2, null))

Runtime: O(n)

Space: O(n)

public func chunks<T>(list : List<T>, n : Nat) : List<List<T>>

Split the given list into chunks of length n. The last chunk will be shorter if the length of the given list does not divide by n evenly. Traps if n = 0.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.chunks<Nat>(
  2,
  ?(0, ?(1, ?(2, ?(3, ?(4, null)))))
)
/* => ?(?(0, ?(1, null)),
        ?(?(2, ?(3, null)),
          ?(?(4, null),
            null)))
*/

Runtime: O(size)

Space: O(size)

public func values<T>(list : List<T>) : Iter.Iter<T>

Returns an iterator to the elements in the list.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
var p = "";
for (e in List.values([3, 1, 4]))
  p #= debug_show e;
p // => "314"

public func fromArray<T>(array : [T]) : List<T>

Convert an array into a list.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.fromArray<Nat>([0, 1, 2, 3, 4])
// =>  ?(0, ?(1, ?(2, ?(3, ?(4, null)))))

Runtime: O(size)

Space: O(size)

public func fromVarArray<T>(array : [var T]) : List<T>

Convert a mutable array into a list.

Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.fromVarArray<Nat>([var 0, 1, 2, 3, 4])
// =>  ?(0, ?(1, ?(2, ?(3, ?(4, null)))))

Runtime: O(size)

Space: O(size)

public func toArray<T>(list : List<T>) : [T]

Create an array from a list. Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.toArray<Nat>(?(0, ?(1, ?(2, ?(3, ?(4, null))))))
// => [0, 1, 2, 3, 4]

Runtime: O(size)

Space: O(size)

public func toVarArray<T>(list : List<T>) : [var T]

Create a mutable array from a list. Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.toVarArray<Nat>(?(0, ?(1, ?(2, ?(3, ?(4, null))))))
// => [var 0, 1, 2, 3, 4]

Runtime: O(size)

Space: O(size)

public func fromIter<T>(iter : Iter.Iter<T>) : List<T>

Turn an iterator into a list, consuming it. Example:

motoko include=initialize
List.fromIter<Nat>([0, 1, 2, 3, 4].values())
// => ?(0, ?(1, ?(2, ?(3, ?(4, null))))))

Runtime: O(size)

Space: O(size)

public func toText<T>(list : List<T>, f : T -> Text) : Text