package gen

  1. Overview
  2. Docs

Generators

Values of type 'a Gen.t represent a possibly infinite sequence of values of type 'a. One can only iterate once on the sequence, as it is consumed by iteration/deconstruction/access. None is returned when the generator is exhausted.

The submodule Restart provides utilities to work with restartable generators, that is, functions unit -> 'a Gen.t that allow to build as many generators from the same source as needed.

Global type declarations

type 'a t = unit -> 'a option

A generator may be called several times, yielding the next value each time. It returns None when no elements remain

type 'a gen = 'a t
module type S = Gen_intf.S

Transient generators

val get : 'a t -> 'a option

Get the next value

val next : 'a t -> 'a option

Synonym for get

val get_exn : 'a t -> 'a

Get the next value, or fails

  • raises Invalid_argument

    if no element remains

val junk : 'a t -> unit

Drop the next value, discarding it.

val repeatedly : (unit -> 'a) -> 'a t

Call the same function an infinite number of times (useful for instance if the function is a random generator).

Operations on transient generators

include S with type 'a t := 'a gen
val empty : 'a gen

Empty generator, with no elements

val singleton : 'a -> 'a gen

One-element generator

val return : 'a -> 'a gen

Alias to singleton

  • since 0.3
val repeat : 'a -> 'a gen

Repeat same element endlessly

val iterate : 'a -> ('a -> 'a) -> 'a gen

iterate x f is [x; f x; f (f x); f (f (f x)); ...]

val unfold : ('b -> ('a * 'b) option) -> 'b -> 'a gen

Dual of fold, with a deconstructing operation. It keeps on unfolding the 'b value into a new 'b, and a 'a which is yielded, until None is returned.

val init : ?limit:int -> (int -> 'a) -> 'a gen

Calls the function, starting from 0, on increasing indices. If limit is provided and is a positive int, iteration will stop at the limit (excluded). For instance init ~limit:4 id will yield 0, 1, 2, and 3.

Basic combinators

Note: those combinators, applied to generators (not restartable generators) consume their argument. Sometimes they consume it lazily, sometimes eagerly, but in any case once f gen has been called (with f a combinator), gen shouldn't be used anymore.

val is_empty : _ gen -> bool

Check whether the gen is empty. Pops an element, if any

val fold : ('b -> 'a -> 'b) -> 'b -> 'a gen -> 'b

Fold on the generator, tail-recursively. Consumes the generator.

val reduce : ('a -> 'a -> 'a) -> 'a gen -> 'a

Fold on non-empty sequences. Consumes the generator.

  • raises Invalid_argument

    on an empty gen

val scan : ('b -> 'a -> 'b) -> 'b -> 'a gen -> 'b gen

Like fold, but keeping successive values of the accumulator. Consumes the generator.

val unfold_scan : ('b -> 'a -> 'b * 'c) -> 'b -> 'a gen -> 'c gen

A mix of unfold and scan. The current state is combined with the current element to produce a new state, and an output value of type 'c.

  • since 0.2.2
val iter : ('a -> unit) -> 'a gen -> unit

Iterate on the gen, consumes it.

val iteri : (int -> 'a -> unit) -> 'a gen -> unit

Iterate on elements with their index in the gen, from 0, consuming it.

val length : _ gen -> int

Length of an gen (linear time), consuming it

val map : ('a -> 'b) -> 'a gen -> 'b gen

Lazy map. No iteration is performed now, the function will be called when the result is traversed.

val mapi : (int -> 'a -> 'b) -> 'a gen -> 'b gen

Lazy map with indexing starting from 0. No iteration is performed now, the function will be called when the result is traversed.

  • since 0.5
val fold_map : ('b -> 'a -> 'b) -> 'b -> 'a gen -> 'b gen

Lazy fold and map. No iteration is performed now, the function will be called when the result is traversed. The result is an iterator over the successive states of the fold.

  • since 0.2.4
val append : 'a gen -> 'a gen -> 'a gen

Append the two gens; the result contains the elements of the first, then the elements of the second gen.

val flatten : 'a Gen_intf.gen gen -> 'a gen

Flatten the generator of generators

val flat_map : ('a -> 'b Gen_intf.gen) -> 'a gen -> 'b gen

Monadic bind; each element is transformed to a sub-gen which is then iterated on, before the next element is processed, and so on.

val mem : ?eq:('a -> 'a -> bool) -> 'a -> 'a gen -> bool

Is the given element, member of the gen?

val take : int -> 'a gen -> 'a gen

Take at most n elements

val drop : int -> 'a gen -> 'a gen

Drop n elements

val nth : int -> 'a gen -> 'a

n-th element, or Not_found

  • raises Not_found

    if the generator contains less than n arguments

val take_nth : int -> 'a gen -> 'a gen

take_nth n g returns every element of g whose index is a multiple of n. For instance take_nth 2 (1--10) |> to_list will return 1;3;5;7;9

val filter : ('a -> bool) -> 'a gen -> 'a gen

Filter out elements that do not satisfy the predicate.

val take_while : ('a -> bool) -> 'a gen -> 'a gen

Take elements while they satisfy the predicate. The initial generator itself is not to be used anymore after this.

val fold_while : ('a -> 'b -> 'a * [ `Stop | `Continue ]) -> 'a -> 'b gen -> 'a

Fold elements until ('a, `Stop) is indicated by the accumulator.

  • since 0.2.4
val drop_while : ('a -> bool) -> 'a gen -> 'a gen

Drop elements while they satisfy the predicate. The initial generator itself should not be used anymore, only the result of drop_while.

val filter_map : ('a -> 'b option) -> 'a gen -> 'b gen

Maps some elements to 'b, drop the other ones

val zip_index : 'a gen -> (int * 'a) gen

Zip elements with their index in the gen

val unzip : ('a * 'b) gen -> 'a gen * 'b gen

Unzip into two sequences, splitting each pair

val partition : ('a -> bool) -> 'a gen -> 'a gen * 'a gen

partition p l returns the elements that satisfy p, and the elements that do not satisfy p

val for_all : ('a -> bool) -> 'a gen -> bool

Is the predicate true for all elements?

val exists : ('a -> bool) -> 'a gen -> bool

Is the predicate true for at least one element?

val min : ?lt:('a -> 'a -> bool) -> 'a gen -> 'a

Minimum element, according to the given comparison function.

  • raises Invalid_argument

    if the generator is empty

val max : ?lt:('a -> 'a -> bool) -> 'a gen -> 'a

Maximum element, see min

  • raises Invalid_argument

    if the generator is empty

val eq : ?eq:('a -> 'a -> bool) -> 'a gen -> 'a gen -> bool

Equality of generators.

val lexico : ?cmp:('a -> 'a -> int) -> 'a gen -> 'a gen -> int

Lexicographic comparison of generators. If a generator is a prefix of the other one, it is considered smaller.

val compare : ?cmp:('a -> 'a -> int) -> 'a gen -> 'a gen -> int

Synonym for lexico

val find : ('a -> bool) -> 'a gen -> 'a option

find p e returns the first element of e to satisfy p, or None.

val sum : int gen -> int

Sum of all elements

Multiple iterators

val map2 : ('a -> 'b -> 'c) -> 'a gen -> 'b gen -> 'c gen

Map on the two sequences. Stops once one of them is exhausted.

val iter2 : ('a -> 'b -> unit) -> 'a gen -> 'b gen -> unit

Iterate on the two sequences. Stops once one of them is exhausted.

val fold2 : ('acc -> 'a -> 'b -> 'acc) -> 'acc -> 'a gen -> 'b gen -> 'acc

Fold the common prefix of the two iterators

val for_all2 : ('a -> 'b -> bool) -> 'a gen -> 'b gen -> bool

Succeeds if all pairs of elements satisfy the predicate. Ignores elements of an iterator if the other runs dry.

val exists2 : ('a -> 'b -> bool) -> 'a gen -> 'b gen -> bool

Succeeds if some pair of elements satisfy the predicate. Ignores elements of an iterator if the other runs dry.

val zip_with : ('a -> 'b -> 'c) -> 'a gen -> 'b gen -> 'c gen

Combine common part of the gens (stops when one is exhausted)

val zip : 'a gen -> 'b gen -> ('a * 'b) gen

Zip together the common part of the gens

Complex combinators

val merge : 'a Gen_intf.gen gen -> 'a gen

Pick elements fairly in each sub-generator. The merge of gens e1, e2, ... picks elements in e1, e2, in e3, e1, e2 .... Once a generator is empty, it is skipped; when they are all empty, and none remains in the input, their merge is also empty. For instance, merge [1;3;5] [2;4;6] will be, in disorder, 1;2;3;4;5;6.

val intersection : ?cmp:('a -> 'a -> int) -> 'a gen -> 'a gen -> 'a gen

Intersection of two sorted sequences. Only elements that occur in both inputs appear in the output

val sorted_merge : ?cmp:('a -> 'a -> int) -> 'a gen -> 'a gen -> 'a gen

Merge two sorted sequences into a sorted sequence

val sorted_merge_n : ?cmp:('a -> 'a -> int) -> 'a gen list -> 'a gen

Sorted merge of multiple sorted sequences

val tee : ?n:int -> 'a gen -> 'a Gen_intf.gen list

Duplicate the gen into n generators (default 2). The generators share the same underlying instance of the gen, so the optimal case is when they are consumed evenly

val round_robin : ?n:int -> 'a gen -> 'a Gen_intf.gen list

Split the gen into n generators in a fair way. Elements with index = k mod n with go to the k-th gen. n default value is 2.

val interleave : 'a gen -> 'a gen -> 'a gen

interleave a b yields an element of a, then an element of b, and so on. When a generator is exhausted, this behaves like the other generator.

val intersperse : 'a -> 'a gen -> 'a gen

Put the separator element between all elements of the given gen

val product : 'a gen -> 'b gen -> ('a * 'b) gen

Cartesian product, in no predictable order. Works even if some of the arguments are infinite.

val group : ?eq:('a -> 'a -> bool) -> 'a gen -> 'a list gen

Group equal consecutive elements together.

val uniq : ?eq:('a -> 'a -> bool) -> 'a gen -> 'a gen

Remove consecutive duplicate elements. Basically this is like fun e -> map List.hd (group e).

val sort : ?cmp:('a -> 'a -> int) -> 'a gen -> 'a gen

Sort according to the given comparison function. The gen must be finite.

val sort_uniq : ?cmp:('a -> 'a -> int) -> 'a gen -> 'a gen

Sort and remove duplicates. The gen must be finite.

val chunks : int -> 'a gen -> 'a array gen

chunks n e returns a generator of arrays of length n, composed of successive elements of e. The last array may be smaller than n

val permutations : 'a gen -> 'a list gen

Permutations of the gen.

  • since 0.2.2
val permutations_heap : 'a gen -> 'a array gen

Permutations of the gen, using Heap's algorithm.

  • since 0.2.3
val combinations : int -> 'a gen -> 'a list gen

Combinations of given length. The ordering of the elements within each combination is unspecified. Example (ignoring ordering): combinations 2 (1--3) |> to_list = [[1;2]; [1;3]; [2;3]]

  • since 0.2.2
val power_set : 'a gen -> 'a list gen

All subsets of the gen (in no particular order). The ordering of the elements within each subset is unspecified.

  • since 0.2.2

Basic conversion functions

val of_list : 'a list -> 'a gen

Enumerate elements of the list

val to_list : 'a gen -> 'a list

non tail-call trasnformation to list, in the same order

val to_rev_list : 'a gen -> 'a list

Tail call conversion to list, in reverse order (more efficient)

val to_array : 'a gen -> 'a array

Convert the gen to an array (not very efficient)

val of_array : ?start:int -> ?len:int -> 'a array -> 'a gen

Iterate on (a slice of) the given array

val of_string : ?start:int -> ?len:int -> string -> char gen

Iterate on bytes of the string

val to_string : char gen -> string

Convert into a string

val to_buffer : Stdlib.Buffer.t -> char gen -> unit

Consumes the iterator and writes to the buffer

val rand_int : int -> int gen

Random ints in the given range.

val int_range : ?step:int -> int -> int -> int gen

int_range ~step a b generates integers between a and b, included, with steps of length step (1 if omitted). a is assumed to be smaller than b, otherwise the result will be empty.

  • raises Invalid_argument

    if step=0

  • parameter step

    step between two numbers; must not be zero, but it can be negative for decreasing ranges (@since 0.5).

val lines : char gen -> string gen

Group together chars belonging to the same line

  • since 0.3
val unlines : string gen -> char gen

Explode lines into their chars, adding a '\n' after each one

  • since 0.3
module Infix : sig ... end
val (--) : int -> int -> int gen

Synonym for int_range ~by:1

val (>>=) : 'a gen -> ('a -> 'b Gen_intf.gen) -> 'b gen

Monadic bind operator

val (>>|) : 'a gen -> ('a -> 'b) -> 'b gen

Infix map operator

  • since 0.2.3
val (>|=) : 'a gen -> ('a -> 'b) -> 'b gen

Infix map operator

  • since 0.2.3
val pp : ?start:string -> ?stop:string -> ?sep:string -> ?horizontal:bool -> (Stdlib.Format.formatter -> 'a -> unit) -> Stdlib.Format.formatter -> 'a gen -> unit

Pretty print the content of the generator on a formatter.

val of_seq : 'a Stdlib.Seq.t -> 'a gen
  • since 1.0
val to_iter : 'a gen -> 'a Gen_intf.iter
  • since 1.0

Restartable generators

A restartable generator is a function that produces copies of the same generator, on demand. It has the type unit -> 'a gen and it is assumed that every generated returned by the function behaves the same (that is, that it traverses the same sequence of elements).

module Restart : sig ... end

Utils

val persistent : 'a t -> 'a Restart.t

Store content of the transient generator in memory, to be able to iterate on it several times later. If possible, consider using combinators from Restart directly instead.

val persistent_lazy : ?caching:bool -> ?max_chunk_size:int -> 'a t -> 'a Restart.t

Same as persistent, but consumes the generator on demand (by chunks). This allows to make a restartable generator out of an ephemeral one, without paying a big cost upfront (nor even consuming it fully). Optional parameters: see GenMList.of_gen_lazy.

  • since 0.2.2
val persistent_to_seq : 'a t -> 'a Stdlib.Seq.t

Same as persistent, but returns a standard Seq.

  • since 1.0
val persistent_lazy_to_seq : ?caching:bool -> ?max_chunk_size:int -> 'a t -> 'a Stdlib.Seq.t

Same as persistent_lazy, but returns a standard Seq.

  • since 1.0
val peek : 'a t -> ('a * 'a option) t

peek g transforms the generator g into a generator of x, Some next if x was followed by next in g, or x, None if x was the last element of g

  • since 0.4
val peek_n : int -> 'a t -> ('a * 'a array) t

peek_n n g iterates on g, returning along with each element the array of the (at most) n elements that follow it immediately

  • raises Invalid_argument

    if the int is < 1

  • since 0.4
val start : 'a Restart.t -> 'a t

Create a new transient generator. start gen is the same as gen () but is included for readability.

Basic IO

Very basic interface to manipulate files as sequence of chunks/lines.

  • since 0.2.3
module IO : sig ... end
OCaml

Innovation. Community. Security.