1List(3) OCaml library List(3)
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6 List - List operations.
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9 Module List
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12 Module List
13 : sig end
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15
16 List operations.
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18 Some functions are flagged as not tail-recursive. A tail-recursive
19 function uses constant stack space, while a non-tail-recursive function
20 uses stack space proportional to the length of its list argument, which
21 can be a problem with very long lists. When the function takes several
22 list arguments, an approximate formula giving stack usage (in some un‐
23 specified constant unit) is shown in parentheses.
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25 The above considerations can usually be ignored if your lists are not
26 longer than about 10000 elements.
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28 The labeled version of this module can be used as described in the Std‐
29 Labels module.
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35 type 'a t = 'a list =
36 | []
37 | (::) of 'a * 'a list
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39
40 An alias for the type of lists.
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43
44 val length : 'a list -> int
45
46 Return the length (number of elements) of the given list.
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49
50 val compare_lengths : 'a list -> 'b list -> int
51
52 Compare the lengths of two lists. compare_lengths l1 l2 is equivalent
53 to compare (length l1) (length l2) , except that the computation stops
54 after reaching the end of the shortest list.
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57 Since 4.05.0
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59
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61 val compare_length_with : 'a list -> int -> int
62
63 Compare the length of a list to an integer. compare_length_with l len
64 is equivalent to compare (length l) len , except that the computation
65 stops after at most len iterations on the list.
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67
68 Since 4.05.0
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72 val cons : 'a -> 'a list -> 'a list
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75 cons x xs is x :: xs
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79 Since 4.03.0 (4.05.0 in ListLabels)
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83 val hd : 'a list -> 'a
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85 Return the first element of the given list.
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87
88 Raises Failure if the list is empty.
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92 val tl : 'a list -> 'a list
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94 Return the given list without its first element.
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97 Raises Failure if the list is empty.
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101 val nth : 'a list -> int -> 'a
102
103 Return the n -th element of the given list. The first element (head of
104 the list) is at position 0.
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107 Raises Failure if the list is too short.
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110 Raises Invalid_argument if n is negative.
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114 val nth_opt : 'a list -> int -> 'a option
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116 Return the n -th element of the given list. The first element (head of
117 the list) is at position 0. Return None if the list is too short.
118
119
120 Since 4.05
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122
123 Raises Invalid_argument if n is negative.
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126
127 val rev : 'a list -> 'a list
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129 List reversal.
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133 val init : int -> (int -> 'a) -> 'a list
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135
136 init len f is f 0; f 1; ...; f (len-1) , evaluated left to right.
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139 Since 4.06.0
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142 Raises Invalid_argument if len < 0 .
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146 val append : 'a list -> 'a list -> 'a list
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148 Concatenate two lists. Same function as the infix operator @ . Not
149 tail-recursive (length of the first argument). The @ operator is not
150 tail-recursive either.
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152
153
154 val rev_append : 'a list -> 'a list -> 'a list
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156
157 rev_append l1 l2 reverses l1 and concatenates it with l2 . This is
158 equivalent to ( List.rev l1) @ l2 , but rev_append is tail-recursive
159 and more efficient.
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161
162
163 val concat : 'a list list -> 'a list
164
165 Concatenate a list of lists. The elements of the argument are all con‐
166 catenated together (in the same order) to give the result. Not
167 tail-recursive (length of the argument + length of the longest
168 sub-list).
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170
171
172 val flatten : 'a list list -> 'a list
173
174 Same as List.concat . Not tail-recursive (length of the argument +
175 length of the longest sub-list).
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179
180 Comparison
181 val equal : ('a -> 'a -> bool) -> 'a list -> 'a list -> bool
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183
184 equal eq [a1; ...; an] [b1; ..; bm] holds when the two input lists have
185 the same length, and for each pair of elements ai , bi at the same po‐
186 sition we have eq ai bi .
187
188 Note: the eq function may be called even if the lists have different
189 length. If you know your equality function is costly, you may want to
190 check List.compare_lengths first.
191
192
193 Since 4.12.0
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196
197 val compare : ('a -> 'a -> int) -> 'a list -> 'a list -> int
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199
200 compare cmp [a1; ...; an] [b1; ...; bm] performs a lexicographic com‐
201 parison of the two input lists, using the same 'a -> 'a -> int inter‐
202 face as compare :
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205 - a1 :: l1 is smaller than a2 :: l2 (negative result) if a1 is smaller
206 than a2 , or if they are equal (0 result) and l1 is smaller than l2
207
208
209 -the empty list [] is strictly smaller than non-empty lists
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211 Note: the cmp function will be called even if the lists have different
212 lengths.
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215 Since 4.12.0
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220 Iterators
221 val iter : ('a -> unit) -> 'a list -> unit
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224 iter f [a1; ...; an] applies function f in turn to a1; ...; an . It is
225 equivalent to begin f a1; f a2; ...; f an; () end .
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229 val iteri : (int -> 'a -> unit) -> 'a list -> unit
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231 Same as List.iter , but the function is applied to the index of the el‐
232 ement as first argument (counting from 0), and the element itself as
233 second argument.
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236 Since 4.00.0
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240 val map : ('a -> 'b) -> 'a list -> 'b list
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243 map f [a1; ...; an] applies function f to a1, ..., an , and builds the
244 list [f a1; ...; f an] with the results returned by f . Not tail-recur‐
245 sive.
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249 val mapi : (int -> 'a -> 'b) -> 'a list -> 'b list
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251 Same as List.map , but the function is applied to the index of the ele‐
252 ment as first argument (counting from 0), and the element itself as
253 second argument. Not tail-recursive.
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256 Since 4.00.0
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260 val rev_map : ('a -> 'b) -> 'a list -> 'b list
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262
263 rev_map f l gives the same result as List.rev ( List.map f l) , but is
264 tail-recursive and more efficient.
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268 val filter_map : ('a -> 'b option) -> 'a list -> 'b list
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271 filter_map f l applies f to every element of l , filters out the None
272 elements and returns the list of the arguments of the Some elements.
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275 Since 4.08.0
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279 val concat_map : ('a -> 'b list) -> 'a list -> 'b list
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282 concat_map f l gives the same result as List.concat ( List.map f l) .
283 Tail-recursive.
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286 Since 4.10.0
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290 val fold_left_map : ('a -> 'b -> 'a * 'c) -> 'a -> 'b list -> 'a * 'c
291 list
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294 fold_left_map is a combination of fold_left and map that threads an
295 accumulator through calls to f .
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298 Since 4.11.0
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302 val fold_left : ('a -> 'b -> 'a) -> 'a -> 'b list -> 'a
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305 fold_left f init [b1; ...; bn] is f (... (f (f init b1) b2) ...) bn .
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309 val fold_right : ('a -> 'b -> 'b) -> 'a list -> 'b -> 'b
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312 fold_right f [a1; ...; an] init is f a1 (f a2 (... (f an init) ...)) .
313 Not tail-recursive.
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318 Iterators on two lists
319 val iter2 : ('a -> 'b -> unit) -> 'a list -> 'b list -> unit
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322 iter2 f [a1; ...; an] [b1; ...; bn] calls in turn f a1 b1; ...; f an bn
323 .
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326 Raises Invalid_argument if the two lists are determined to have differ‐
327 ent lengths.
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331 val map2 : ('a -> 'b -> 'c) -> 'a list -> 'b list -> 'c list
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334 map2 f [a1; ...; an] [b1; ...; bn] is [f a1 b1; ...; f an bn] .
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337 Raises Invalid_argument if the two lists are determined to have differ‐
338 ent lengths. Not tail-recursive.
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342 val rev_map2 : ('a -> 'b -> 'c) -> 'a list -> 'b list -> 'c list
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345 rev_map2 f l1 l2 gives the same result as List.rev ( List.map2 f l1 l2)
346 , but is tail-recursive and more efficient.
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350 val fold_left2 : ('a -> 'b -> 'c -> 'a) -> 'a -> 'b list -> 'c list ->
351 'a
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354 fold_left2 f init [a1; ...; an] [b1; ...; bn] is f (... (f (f init a1
355 b1) a2 b2) ...) an bn .
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358 Raises Invalid_argument if the two lists are determined to have differ‐
359 ent lengths.
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363 val fold_right2 : ('a -> 'b -> 'c -> 'c) -> 'a list -> 'b list -> 'c ->
364 'c
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367 fold_right2 f [a1; ...; an] [b1; ...; bn] init is f a1 b1 (f a2 b2 (...
368 (f an bn init) ...)) .
369
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371 Raises Invalid_argument if the two lists are determined to have differ‐
372 ent lengths. Not tail-recursive.
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377 List scanning
378 val for_all : ('a -> bool) -> 'a list -> bool
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380
381 for_all f [a1; ...; an] checks if all elements of the list satisfy the
382 predicate f . That is, it returns (f a1) && (f a2) && ... && (f an) for
383 a non-empty list and true if the list is empty.
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387 val exists : ('a -> bool) -> 'a list -> bool
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390 exists f [a1; ...; an] checks if at least one element of the list sat‐
391 isfies the predicate f . That is, it returns (f a1) || (f a2) || ... ||
392 (f an) for a non-empty list and false if the list is empty.
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396 val for_all2 : ('a -> 'b -> bool) -> 'a list -> 'b list -> bool
397
398 Same as List.for_all , but for a two-argument predicate.
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401 Raises Invalid_argument if the two lists are determined to have differ‐
402 ent lengths.
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406 val exists2 : ('a -> 'b -> bool) -> 'a list -> 'b list -> bool
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408 Same as List.exists , but for a two-argument predicate.
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411 Raises Invalid_argument if the two lists are determined to have differ‐
412 ent lengths.
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416 val mem : 'a -> 'a list -> bool
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419 mem a set is true if and only if a is equal to an element of set .
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423 val memq : 'a -> 'a list -> bool
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425 Same as List.mem , but uses physical equality instead of structural
426 equality to compare list elements.
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431 List searching
432 val find : ('a -> bool) -> 'a list -> 'a
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434
435 find f l returns the first element of the list l that satisfies the
436 predicate f .
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439 Raises Not_found if there is no value that satisfies f in the list l .
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443 val find_opt : ('a -> bool) -> 'a list -> 'a option
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446 find f l returns the first element of the list l that satisfies the
447 predicate f . Returns None if there is no value that satisfies f in
448 the list l .
449
450
451 Since 4.05
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455 val find_map : ('a -> 'b option) -> 'a list -> 'b option
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457
458 find_map f l applies f to the elements of l in order, and returns the
459 first result of the form Some v , or None if none exist.
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461
462 Since 4.10.0
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466 val filter : ('a -> bool) -> 'a list -> 'a list
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469 filter f l returns all the elements of the list l that satisfy the
470 predicate f . The order of the elements in the input list is preserved.
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473
474 val find_all : ('a -> bool) -> 'a list -> 'a list
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476
477 find_all is another name for List.filter .
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479
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481 val filteri : (int -> 'a -> bool) -> 'a list -> 'a list
482
483 Same as List.filter , but the predicate is applied to the index of the
484 element as first argument (counting from 0), and the element itself as
485 second argument.
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488 Since 4.11.0
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492 val partition : ('a -> bool) -> 'a list -> 'a list * 'a list
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495 partition f l returns a pair of lists (l1, l2) , where l1 is the list
496 of all the elements of l that satisfy the predicate f , and l2 is the
497 list of all the elements of l that do not satisfy f . The order of the
498 elements in the input list is preserved.
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500
501
502 val partition_map : ('a -> ('b, 'c) Either.t) -> 'a list -> 'b list *
503 'c list
504
505
506 partition_map f l returns a pair of lists (l1, l2) such that, for each
507 element x of the input list l :
508
509 -if f x is Left y1 , then y1 is in l1 , and
510
511 -if f x is Right y2 , then y2 is in l2 .
512
513 The output elements are included in l1 and l2 in the same relative or‐
514 der as the corresponding input elements in l .
515
516 In particular, partition_map (fun x -> if f x then Left x else Right x)
517 l is equivalent to partition f l .
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519
520 Since 4.12.0
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525 Association lists
526 val assoc : 'a -> ('a * 'b) list -> 'b
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528
529 assoc a l returns the value associated with key a in the list of pairs
530 l . That is, assoc a [ ...; (a,b); ...] = b if (a,b) is the leftmost
531 binding of a in list l .
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533
534 Raises Not_found if there is no value associated with a in the list l .
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536
537
538 val assoc_opt : 'a -> ('a * 'b) list -> 'b option
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540
541 assoc_opt a l returns the value associated with key a in the list of
542 pairs l . That is, assoc_opt a [ ...; (a,b); ...] = Some b if (a,b) is
543 the leftmost binding of a in list l . Returns None if there is no
544 value associated with a in the list l .
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546
547 Since 4.05
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549
550
551 val assq : 'a -> ('a * 'b) list -> 'b
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553 Same as List.assoc , but uses physical equality instead of structural
554 equality to compare keys.
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557
558 val assq_opt : 'a -> ('a * 'b) list -> 'b option
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560 Same as List.assoc_opt , but uses physical equality instead of struc‐
561 tural equality to compare keys.
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563
564 Since 4.05.0
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568 val mem_assoc : 'a -> ('a * 'b) list -> bool
569
570 Same as List.assoc , but simply return true if a binding exists, and
571 false if no bindings exist for the given key.
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574
575 val mem_assq : 'a -> ('a * 'b) list -> bool
576
577 Same as List.mem_assoc , but uses physical equality instead of struc‐
578 tural equality to compare keys.
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581
582 val remove_assoc : 'a -> ('a * 'b) list -> ('a * 'b) list
583
584
585 remove_assoc a l returns the list of pairs l without the first pair
586 with key a , if any. Not tail-recursive.
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588
589
590 val remove_assq : 'a -> ('a * 'b) list -> ('a * 'b) list
591
592 Same as List.remove_assoc , but uses physical equality instead of
593 structural equality to compare keys. Not tail-recursive.
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595
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597
598 Lists of pairs
599 val split : ('a * 'b) list -> 'a list * 'b list
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601 Transform a list of pairs into a pair of lists: split [(a1,b1); ...;
602 (an,bn)] is ([a1; ...; an], [b1; ...; bn]) . Not tail-recursive.
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604
605
606 val combine : 'a list -> 'b list -> ('a * 'b) list
607
608 Transform a pair of lists into a list of pairs: combine [a1; ...; an]
609 [b1; ...; bn] is [(a1,b1); ...; (an,bn)] .
610
611
612 Raises Invalid_argument if the two lists have different lengths. Not
613 tail-recursive.
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615
616
617
618 Sorting
619 val sort : ('a -> 'a -> int) -> 'a list -> 'a list
620
621 Sort a list in increasing order according to a comparison function. The
622 comparison function must return 0 if its arguments compare as equal, a
623 positive integer if the first is greater, and a negative integer if the
624 first is smaller (see Array.sort for a complete specification). For ex‐
625 ample, compare is a suitable comparison function. The resulting list
626 is sorted in increasing order. List.sort is guaranteed to run in con‐
627 stant heap space (in addition to the size of the result list) and loga‐
628 rithmic stack space.
629
630 The current implementation uses Merge Sort. It runs in constant heap
631 space and logarithmic stack space.
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633
634
635 val stable_sort : ('a -> 'a -> int) -> 'a list -> 'a list
636
637 Same as List.sort , but the sorting algorithm is guaranteed to be sta‐
638 ble (i.e. elements that compare equal are kept in their original or‐
639 der).
640
641 The current implementation uses Merge Sort. It runs in constant heap
642 space and logarithmic stack space.
643
644
645
646 val fast_sort : ('a -> 'a -> int) -> 'a list -> 'a list
647
648 Same as List.sort or List.stable_sort , whichever is faster on typical
649 input.
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651
652
653 val sort_uniq : ('a -> 'a -> int) -> 'a list -> 'a list
654
655 Same as List.sort , but also remove duplicates.
656
657
658 Since 4.02.0 (4.03.0 in ListLabels)
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661
662 val merge : ('a -> 'a -> int) -> 'a list -> 'a list -> 'a list
663
664 Merge two lists: Assuming that l1 and l2 are sorted according to the
665 comparison function cmp , merge cmp l1 l2 will return a sorted list
666 containing all the elements of l1 and l2 . If several elements compare
667 equal, the elements of l1 will be before the elements of l2 . Not
668 tail-recursive (sum of the lengths of the arguments).
669
670
671
672
673 Lists and Sequences
674 val to_seq : 'a list -> 'a Seq.t
675
676 Iterate on the list.
677
678
679 Since 4.07
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681
682
683 val of_seq : 'a Seq.t -> 'a list
684
685 Create a list from a sequence.
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687
688 Since 4.07
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694OCamldoc 2022-07-22 List(3)