# NAME

List::SomeUtils - Provide the stuff missing in List::Util

# VERSION

version 0.59

# SYNOPSIS

    # import specific functions
    use List::SomeUtils qw( any uniq );

    if ( any {/foo/} uniq @has_duplicates ) {

        # do stuff
    }

    # import everything
    use List::SomeUtils ':all';

# DESCRIPTION

**List::SomeUtils** provides some trivial but commonly needed functionality on
lists which is not going to go into [List::Util](https://metacpan.org/pod/List%3A%3AUtil).

All of the below functions are implementable in only a couple of lines of Perl
code. Using the functions from this module however should give slightly better
performance as everything is implemented in C. The pure-Perl implementation of
these functions only serves as a fallback in case the C portions of this module
couldn't be compiled on this machine.

# WHY DOES THIS MODULE EXIST?

You might wonder why this module exists when we already have
[List::MoreUtils](https://metacpan.org/pod/List%3A%3AMoreUtils). In fact, this module is (nearly) the same code as is found
in LMU with no significant changes. However, the LMU distribution depends on
several modules for configuration (to run the Makefile.PL) that some folks in
the Perl community don't think are appropriate for a module high upstream in
the CPAN river.

I (Dave Rolsky) don't have a strong opinion on this, but I _do_ like the
functions provided by LMU, and I'm tired of getting patches and PRs to remove
LMU from my code.

This distribution exists to let me use the functionality I like without having
to get into tiring arguments about issues I don't really care about.

# EXPORTS

## Default behavior

Nothing by default. To import all of this module's symbols use the `:all` tag.
Otherwise functions can be imported by name as usual:

    use List::SomeUtils ':all';

    use List::SomeUtils qw{ any firstidx };

Because historical changes to the API might make upgrading List::SomeUtils
difficult for some projects, the legacy API is available via special import
tags.

# FUNCTIONS

## Junctions

### _Treatment of an empty list_

There are two schools of thought for how to evaluate a junction on an empty
list:

- Reduction to an identity (boolean)
- Result is undefined (three-valued)

In the first case, the result of the junction applied to the empty list is
determined by a mathematical reduction to an identity depending on whether the
underlying comparison is "or" or "and".  Conceptually:

                    "any are true"      "all are true"
                    --------------      --------------
    2 elements:     A || B || 0         A && B && 1
    1 element:      A || 0              A && 1
    0 elements:     0                   1

In the second case, three-value logic is desired, in which a junction applied
to an empty list returns `undef` rather than true or false

Junctions with a `_u` suffix implement three-valued logic.  Those without are
boolean.

### all BLOCK LIST

### all\_u BLOCK LIST

Returns a true value if all items in LIST meet the criterion given through
BLOCK. Sets `$_` for each item in LIST in turn:

    print "All values are non-negative"
      if all { $_ >= 0 } ($x, $y, $z);

For an empty LIST, `all` returns true (i.e. no values failed the condition)
and `all_u` returns `undef`.

Thus, `all_u(@list)` is equivalent to `@list ? all(@list) : undef`.

**Note**: because Perl treats `undef` as false, you must check the return value
of `all_u` with `defined` or you will get the opposite result of what you
expect.

### any BLOCK LIST

### any\_u BLOCK LIST

Returns a true value if any item in LIST meets the criterion given through
BLOCK. Sets `$_` for each item in LIST in turn:

    print "At least one non-negative value"
      if any { $_ >= 0 } ($x, $y, $z);

For an empty LIST, `any` returns false and `any_u` returns `undef`.

Thus, `any_u(@list)` is equivalent to `@list ? any(@list) : undef`.

### none BLOCK LIST

### none\_u BLOCK LIST

Logically the negation of `any`. Returns a true value if no item in LIST meets
the criterion given through BLOCK. Sets `$_` for each item in LIST in turn:

    print "No non-negative values"
      if none { $_ >= 0 } ($x, $y, $z);

For an empty LIST, `none` returns true (i.e. no values failed the condition)
and `none_u` returns `undef`.

Thus, `none_u(@list)` is equivalent to `@list ? none(@list) : undef`.

**Note**: because Perl treats `undef` as false, you must check the return value
of `none_u` with `defined` or you will get the opposite result of what you
expect.

### notall BLOCK LIST

### notall\_u BLOCK LIST

Logically the negation of `all`. Returns a true value if not all items in LIST
meet the criterion given through BLOCK. Sets `$_` for each item in LIST in
turn:

    print "Not all values are non-negative"
      if notall { $_ >= 0 } ($x, $y, $z);

For an empty LIST, `notall` returns false and `notall_u` returns `undef`.

Thus, `notall_u(@list)` is equivalent to `@list ? notall(@list) : undef`.

### one BLOCK LIST

### one\_u BLOCK LIST

Returns a true value if precisely one item in LIST meets the criterion given
through BLOCK. Sets `$_` for each item in LIST in turn:

    print "Precisely one value defined"
        if one { defined($_) } @list;

Returns false otherwise.

For an empty LIST, `one` returns false and `one_u` returns `undef`.

The expression `one BLOCK LIST` is almost equivalent to `1 == true BLOCK
LIST`, except for short-cutting. Evaluation of BLOCK will immediately stop at
the second true value.

## Transformation

### apply BLOCK LIST

Makes a copy of the list and then passes each element _from the copy_ to the
BLOCK. Any changes or assignments to `$_` in the BLOCK will only affect the
elements of the new list. However, if `$_` is a reference then changes to the
referenced value will be seen in both the original and new list.

This function is similar to `map` but will not modify the elements of the
input list:

    my @list = (1 .. 4);
    my @mult = apply { $_ *= 2 } @list;
    print "\@list = @list\n";
    print "\@mult = @mult\n";
    __END__
    @list = 1 2 3 4
    @mult = 2 4 6 8

Think of it as syntactic sugar for

    for (my @mult = @list) { $_ *= 2 }

Note that you must alter `$_` directly inside BLOCK in order for changes to
make effect. New value returned from the BLOCK are ignored:

    # @new is identical to @list.
    my @new = apply { $_ * 2 } @list;

    # @new is different from @list
    my @new = apply { $_ =* 2 } @list;

### insert\_after BLOCK VALUE LIST

Inserts VALUE after the first item in LIST for which the criterion in BLOCK is
true. Sets `$_` for each item in LIST in turn.

    my @list = qw/This is a list/;
    insert_after { $_ eq "a" } "longer" => @list;
    print "@list";
    __END__
    This is a longer list

### insert\_after\_string STRING VALUE LIST

Inserts VALUE after the first item in LIST which is equal to STRING.

    my @list = qw/This is a list/;
    insert_after_string "a", "longer" => @list;
    print "@list";
    __END__
    This is a longer list

### pairwise BLOCK ARRAY1 ARRAY2

Evaluates BLOCK for each pair of elements in ARRAY1 and ARRAY2 and returns a
new list consisting of BLOCK's return values. The two elements are set to `$a`
and `$b`.  Note that those two are aliases to the original value so changing
them will modify the input arrays.

    @a = (1 .. 5);
    @b = (11 .. 15);
    @x = pairwise { $a + $b } @a, @b;     # returns 12, 14, 16, 18, 20

    # mesh with pairwise
    @a = qw/a b c/;
    @b = qw/1 2 3/;
    @x = pairwise { ($a, $b) } @a, @b;    # returns a, 1, b, 2, c, 3

### mesh ARRAY1 ARRAY2 \[ ARRAY3 ... \]

### zip ARRAY1 ARRAY2 \[ ARRAY3 ... \]

Returns a list consisting of the first elements of each array, then the second,
then the third, etc, until all arrays are exhausted.

Examples:

    @x = qw/a b c d/;
    @y = qw/1 2 3 4/;
    @z = mesh @x, @y;         # returns a, 1, b, 2, c, 3, d, 4

    @a = ('x');
    @b = ('1', '2');
    @c = qw/zip zap zot/;
    @d = mesh @a, @b, @c;   # x, 1, zip, undef, 2, zap, undef, undef, zot

`zip` is an alias for `mesh`.

### uniq LIST

### distinct LIST

Returns a new list by stripping duplicate values in LIST by comparing the
values as hash keys, except that undef is considered separate from ''. The
order of elements in the returned list is the same as in LIST. In scalar
context, returns the number of unique elements in LIST.

    my @x = uniq 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 5, 3, 4; # returns 1 2 3 5 4
    my $x = uniq 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 5, 3, 4; # returns 5
    # returns "Mike", "Michael", "Richard", "Rick"
    my @n = distinct "Mike", "Michael", "Richard", "Rick", "Michael", "Rick"
    # returns '', undef, 'S1', A5'
    my @s = distinct '', undef, 'S1', 'A5'
    # returns '', undef, 'S1', A5'
    my @w = uniq undef, '', 'S1', 'A5'

`distinct` is an alias for `uniq`.

**RT#49800** can be used to give feedback about this behavior.

### singleton

Returns a new list by stripping values in LIST occurring more than once by
comparing the values as hash keys, except that undef is considered separate
from ''.  The order of elements in the returned list is the same as in LIST. In
scalar context, returns the number of elements occurring only once in LIST.

    my @x = singleton 1,1,2,2,3,4,5 # returns 3 4 5

## Partitioning

### after BLOCK LIST

Returns a list of the values of LIST after (and not including) the point where
BLOCK returns a true value. Sets `$_` for each element in LIST in turn.

    @x = after { $_ % 5 == 0 } (1..9);    # returns 6, 7, 8, 9

### after\_incl BLOCK LIST

Same as `after` but also includes the element for which BLOCK is true.

### before BLOCK LIST

Returns a list of values of LIST up to (and not including) the point where
BLOCK returns a true value. Sets `$_` for each element in LIST in turn.

### before\_incl BLOCK LIST

Same as `before` but also includes the element for which BLOCK is true.

### part BLOCK LIST

Partitions LIST based on the return value of BLOCK which denotes into which
partition the current value is put.

Returns a list of the partitions thusly created. Each partition created is a
reference to an array.

    my $i = 0;
    my @part = part { $i++ % 2 } 1 .. 8;   # returns [1, 3, 5, 7], [2, 4, 6, 8]

You can have a sparse list of partitions as well where non-set partitions will
be undef:

    my @part = part { 2 } 1 .. 10;            # returns undef, undef, [ 1 .. 10 ]

Be careful with negative values, though:

    my @part = part { -1 } 1 .. 10;
    __END__
    Modification of non-creatable array value attempted, subscript -1 ...

Negative values are only ok when they refer to a partition previously created:

    my @idx  = ( 0, 1, -1 );
    my $i    = 0;
    my @part = part { $idx[$i++ % 3] } 1 .. 8; # [1, 4, 7], [2, 3, 5, 6, 8]

## Iteration

### each\_array ARRAY1 ARRAY2 ...

Creates an array iterator to return the elements of the list of arrays ARRAY1,
ARRAY2 throughout ARRAYn in turn.  That is, the first time it is called, it
returns the first element of each array.  The next time, it returns the second
elements.  And so on, until all elements are exhausted.

This is useful for looping over more than one array at once:

    my $ea = each_array(@a, @b, @c);
    while ( my ($a, $b, $c) = $ea->() )   { .... }

The iterator returns the empty list when it reached the end of all arrays.

If the iterator is passed an argument of '`index`', then it returns the index
of the last fetched set of values, as a scalar.

### each\_arrayref LIST

Like each\_array, but the arguments are references to arrays, not the plain
arrays.

### natatime EXPR, LIST

Creates an array iterator, for looping over an array in chunks of `$n` items
at a time.  (n at a time, get it?).  An example is probably a better
explanation than I could give in words.

Example:

    my @x = ('a' .. 'g');
    my $it = natatime 3, @x;
    while (my @vals = $it->())
    {
      print "@vals\n";
    }

This prints

    a b c
    d e f
    g

## Searching

### bsearch BLOCK LIST

Performs a binary search on LIST which must be a sorted list of values. BLOCK
must return a negative value if the current element (stored in `$_`) is
smaller, a positive value if it is bigger and zero if it matches.

Returns a boolean value in scalar context. In list context, it returns the
element if it was found, otherwise the empty list.

### bsearchidx BLOCK LIST

### bsearch\_index BLOCK LIST

Performs a binary search on LIST which must be a sorted list of values. BLOCK
must return a negative value if the current element (stored in `$_`) is
smaller, a positive value if it is bigger and zero if it matches.

Returns the index of found element, otherwise `-1`.

`bsearch_index` is an alias for `bsearchidx`.

### firstval BLOCK LIST

### first\_value BLOCK LIST

Returns the first element in LIST for which BLOCK evaluates to true. Each
element of LIST is set to `$_` in turn. Returns `undef` if no such element
has been found.

`first_value` is an alias for `firstval`.

### onlyval BLOCK LIST

### only\_value BLOCK LIST

Returns the only element in LIST for which BLOCK evaluates to true. Sets `$_`
for each item in LIST in turn. Returns `undef` if no such element has been
found.

`only_value` is an alias for `onlyval`.

### lastval BLOCK LIST

### last\_value BLOCK LIST

Returns the last value in LIST for which BLOCK evaluates to true. Each element
of LIST is set to `$_` in turn. Returns `undef` if no such element has been
found.

`last_value` is an alias for `lastval`.

### firstres BLOCK LIST

### first\_result BLOCK LIST

Returns the result of BLOCK for the first element in LIST for which BLOCK
evaluates to true. Each element of LIST is set to `$_` in turn. Returns
`undef` if no such element has been found.

`first_result` is an alias for `firstres`.

### onlyres BLOCK LIST

### only\_result BLOCK LIST

Returns the result of BLOCK for the first element in LIST for which BLOCK
evaluates to true. Sets `$_` for each item in LIST in turn. Returns `undef`
if no such element has been found.

`only_result` is an alias for `onlyres`.

### lastres BLOCK LIST

### last\_result BLOCK LIST

Returns the result of BLOCK for the last element in LIST for which BLOCK
evaluates to true. Each element of LIST is set to `$_` in turn. Returns
`undef` if no such element has been found.

`last_result` is an alias for `lastres`.

### indexes BLOCK LIST

Evaluates BLOCK for each element in LIST (assigned to `$_`) and returns a list
of the indices of those elements for which BLOCK returned a true value. This is
just like `grep` only that it returns indices instead of values:

    @x = indexes { $_ % 2 == 0 } (1..10);   # returns 1, 3, 5, 7, 9

### firstidx BLOCK LIST

### first\_index BLOCK LIST

Returns the index of the first element in LIST for which the criterion in BLOCK
is true. Sets `$_` for each item in LIST in turn:

    my @list = (1, 4, 3, 2, 4, 6);
    printf "item with index %i in list is 4", firstidx { $_ == 4 } @list;
    __END__
    item with index 1 in list is 4

Returns `-1` if no such item could be found.

`first_index` is an alias for `firstidx`.

### onlyidx BLOCK LIST

### only\_index BLOCK LIST

Returns the index of the only element in LIST for which the criterion in BLOCK
is true. Sets `$_` for each item in LIST in turn:

    my @list = (1, 3, 4, 3, 2, 4);
    printf "unique index of item 2 in list is %i", onlyidx { $_ == 2 } @list;
    __END__
    unique index of item 2 in list is 4

Returns `-1` if either no such item or more than one of these has been found.

`only_index` is an alias for `onlyidx`.

### lastidx BLOCK LIST

### last\_index BLOCK LIST

Returns the index of the last element in LIST for which the criterion in BLOCK
is true. Sets `$_` for each item in LIST in turn:

    my @list = (1, 4, 3, 2, 4, 6);
    printf "item with index %i in list is 4", lastidx { $_ == 4 } @list;
    __END__
    item with index 4 in list is 4

Returns `-1` if no such item could be found.

`last_index` is an alias for `lastidx`.

## Sorting

### sort\_by BLOCK LIST

Returns the list of values sorted according to the string values returned by
the KEYFUNC block or function. A typical use of this may be to sort objects
according to the string value of some accessor, such as

    sort_by { $_->name } @people

The key function is called in scalar context, being passed each value in turn
as both $\_ and the only argument in the parameters, @\_. The values are then
sorted according to string comparisons on the values returned. This is
equivalent to

    sort { $a->name cmp $b->name } @people

except that it guarantees the name accessor will be executed only once per
value. One interesting use-case is to sort strings which may have numbers
embedded in them "naturally", rather than lexically.

    sort_by { s/(\d+)/sprintf "%09d", $1/eg; $_ } @strings

This sorts strings by generating sort keys which zero-pad the embedded numbers
to some level (9 digits in this case), helping to ensure the lexical sort puts
them in the correct order.

### nsort\_by BLOCK LIST

Similar to sort\_by but compares its key values numerically.

## Counting and calculation

### true BLOCK LIST

Counts the number of elements in LIST for which the criterion in BLOCK is true.
Sets `$_` for  each item in LIST in turn:

    printf "%i item(s) are defined", true { defined($_) } @list;

### false BLOCK LIST

Counts the number of elements in LIST for which the criterion in BLOCK is
false. Sets `$_` for each item in LIST in turn:

    printf "%i item(s) are not defined", false { defined($_) } @list;

### minmax LIST

Calculates the minimum and maximum of LIST and returns a two element list with
the first element being the minimum and the second the maximum. Returns the
empty list if LIST was empty.

The `minmax` algorithm differs from a naive iteration over the list where each
element is compared to two values being the so far calculated min and max value
in that it only requires 3n/2 - 2 comparisons. Thus it is the most efficient
possible algorithm.

However, the Perl implementation of it has some overhead simply due to the fact
that there are more lines of Perl code involved. Therefore, LIST needs to be
fairly big in order for `minmax` to win over a naive implementation. This
limitation does not apply to the XS version.

### mode LIST

Calculates the most common items in the list and returns them as a list. This
is effectively done by string comparisons, so references will be stringified.
If they implement string overloading, this will be used.

If more than one item appears the same number of times in the list, all such
items will be returned. For example, the mode of a unique list is the list
itself.

This function returns a list in list context. In scalar context it returns a
count indicating the number of modes in the list.

# MAINTENANCE

The maintenance goal is to preserve the documented semantics of the API; bug
fixes that bring actual behavior in line with semantics are allowed. New API
functions may be added over time.  If a backwards incompatible change is
unavoidable, we will attempt to provide support for the legacy API using the
same export tag mechanism currently in place.

This module attempts to use few non-core dependencies. Non-core configuration
and testing modules will be bundled when reasonable; run-time dependencies will
be added only if they deliver substantial benefit.

# KNOWN ISSUES

There is a problem with a bug in 5.6.x perls. It is a syntax error to write
things like:

    my @x = apply { s/foo/bar/ } qw{ foo bar baz };

It has to be written as either

    my @x = apply { s/foo/bar/ } 'foo', 'bar', 'baz';

or

    my @x = apply { s/foo/bar/ } my @dummy = qw/foo bar baz/;

Perl 5.5.x and Perl 5.8.x don't suffer from this limitation.

If you have a functionality that you could imagine being in this module, please
drop me a line. This module's policy will be less strict than [List::Util](https://metacpan.org/pod/List%3A%3AUtil)'s
when it comes to additions as it isn't a core module.

When you report bugs, it would be nice if you could additionally give me the
output of your program with the environment variable `LIST_MOREUTILS_PP` set
to a true value. That way I know where to look for the problem (in XS,
pure-Perl or possibly both).

# THANKS

## Tassilo von Parseval

Credits go to a number of people: Steve Purkis for giving me namespace advice
and James Keenan and Terrence Branno for their effort of keeping the CPAN
tidier by making [List::Util](https://metacpan.org/pod/List%3A%3AUtil) obsolete.

Brian McCauley suggested the inclusion of apply() and provided the pure-Perl
implementation for it.

Eric J. Roode asked me to add all functions from his module `List::SomeUtil`
into this one. With minor modifications, the pure-Perl implementations of those
are by him.

The bunch of people who almost immediately pointed out the many problems with
the glitchy 0.07 release (Slaven Rezic, Ron Savage, CPAN testers).

A particularly nasty memory leak was spotted by Thomas A. Lowery.

Lars Thegler made me aware of problems with older Perl versions.

Anno Siegel de-orphaned each\_arrayref().

David Filmer made me aware of a problem in each\_arrayref that could ultimately
lead to a segfault.

Ricardo Signes suggested the inclusion of part() and provided the
Perl-implementation.

Robin Huston kindly fixed a bug in perl's MULTICALL API to make the
XS-implementation of part() work.

## Jens Rehsack

Credits goes to all people contributing feedback during the v0.400 development
releases.

Special thanks goes to David Golden who spent a lot of effort to develop a
design to support current state of CPAN as well as ancient software somewhere
in the dark. He also contributed a lot of patches to refactor the API frontend
to welcome any user of List::SomeUtils - from ancient past to recently last
used.

Toby Inkster provided a lot of useful feedback for sane importer code and was a
nice sounding board for API discussions.

Peter Rabbitson provided a sane git repository setup containing entire package
history.

# TODO

A pile of requests from other people is still pending further processing in my
mailbox. This includes:

- List::Util export pass-through

    Allow **List::SomeUtils** to pass-through the regular [List::Util](https://metacpan.org/pod/List%3A%3AUtil) functions to
    end users only need to `use` the one module.

- uniq\_by(&@)

    Use code-reference to extract a key based on which the uniqueness is
    determined. Suggested by Aaron Crane.

- delete\_index
- random\_item
- random\_item\_delete\_index
- list\_diff\_hash
- list\_diff\_inboth
- list\_diff\_infirst
- list\_diff\_insecond

    These were all suggested by Dan Muey.

- listify

    Always return a flat list when either a simple scalar value was passed or an
    array-reference. Suggested by Mark Summersault.

# SEE ALSO

[List::Util](https://metacpan.org/pod/List%3A%3AUtil), [List::AllUtils](https://metacpan.org/pod/List%3A%3AAllUtils), [List::UtilsBy](https://metacpan.org/pod/List%3A%3AUtilsBy)

# HISTORICAL COPYRIGHT

Some parts copyright 2011 Aaron Crane.

Copyright 2004 - 2010 by Tassilo von Parseval

Copyright 2013 - 2015 by Jens Rehsack

# SUPPORT

Bugs may be submitted at [https://github.com/houseabsolute/List-SomeUtils/issues](https://github.com/houseabsolute/List-SomeUtils/issues).

# SOURCE

The source code repository for List-SomeUtils can be found at [https://github.com/houseabsolute/List-SomeUtils](https://github.com/houseabsolute/List-SomeUtils).

# DONATIONS

If you'd like to thank me for the work I've done on this module, please
consider making a "donation" to me via PayPal. I spend a lot of free time
creating free software, and would appreciate any support you'd care to offer.

Please note that **I am not suggesting that you must do this** in order for me
to continue working on this particular software. I will continue to do so,
inasmuch as I have in the past, for as long as it interests me.

Similarly, a donation made in this way will probably not make me work on this
software much more, unless I get so many donations that I can consider working
on free software full time (let's all have a chuckle at that together).

To donate, log into PayPal and send money to autarch@urth.org, or use the
button at [https://houseabsolute.com/foss-donations/](https://houseabsolute.com/foss-donations/).

# AUTHORS

- Tassilo von Parseval <tassilo.von.parseval@rwth-aachen.de>
- Adam Kennedy <adamk@cpan.org>
- Jens Rehsack <rehsack@cpan.org>
- Dave Rolsky <autarch@urth.org>

# CONTRIBUTORS

- Aaron Crane <arc@cpan.org>
- BackPan <BackPan>
- bay-max1 <34803732+bay-max1@users.noreply.github.com>
- Brad Forschinger <bnjf@bnjf.id.au>
- David Golden <dagolden@cpan.org>
- jddurand <jeandamiendurand@free.fr>
- Jens Rehsack <sno@netbsd.org>
- J.R. Mash <jrmash@cpan.org>
- Karen Etheridge <ether@cpan.org>
- Ricardo Signes <rjbs@cpan.org>
- Toby Inkster <mail@tobyinkster.co.uk>
- Tokuhiro Matsuno <tokuhirom@cpan.org>
- Tom Wyant <wyant@cpan.org>

# COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

This software is copyright (c) 2022 by Dave Rolsky <autarch@urth.org>.

This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under
the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.

The full text of the license can be found in the
`LICENSE` file included with this distribution.