Standard Library: General functions

alt


[%alt: a; b+]

→ any

Prints the first argument that isn't of type nothing. If all arguments are nothing, prints nothing.

Parameters

a ← any
The first value to check.

b ← any+
The rest of the values to check.

call


[%call: func; args]

→ any

Calls the function func with the argument list args.

Parameters

func ← function
The function to call.

args ← list
The arguments to pass to the function.

cat


[%cat: values*]

→ any

Concatenates the provided values and prints the result.

Parameters

values ← any*
The values to combine.

copy


[%copy: value]

→ any

Returns a shallow clone of value.

Parameters

value ← any
The value to clone.

either


[%either: condition; true-val; false-val]

→ any

Returns true-val if condition is @true, or false-val if condition is @false.

Parameters

condition ← bool
The boolean value to use to select the output.

true-val ← any
The value to print if condition is true.

false-val ← any
The value to print if condition is false.

irange


[%irange: a; b?; step?]

→ range

Creates a new inclusive range with the specified bounds and step value.

  • If a and b are present, range will start at a (inclusive) and end at b (inclusive).
  • If a is present but b is omitted, range will start at 0 (inclusive) and end at a (inclusive).

The step value determines the spacing of the range values and must be a positive integer. A step value of 0 defaults to 1.

The step value does not affect the first value in the range and is only applied on subsequent values.

Parameters

a ← int
The starting (inclusive) bound. Used as the ending (inclusive) bound if b is omitted.

b ← int (optional)
The ending (inclusive) bound.

step ← int (optional)
The absolute difference between adjacent values in the range.

fork


[%fork: seed?]

Forks (overrides) the current RNG with a new RNG seeded by both the old RNG's seed and the specified seed. If no seed is provided, a random one is generated.

Parameters

seed ← int | string (optional)
The seed value to branch with.

Example

# Entangles {yee|woo} with {haw|hoo}, i.e. forces them both to pick the same index

[fork:a]{yee|woo}[unfork]-
[fork:a]{haw|hoo}[unfork]!

# Output is either "yee-haw!" or "woo-hoo!"

nop


[%nop: args*]

Does absolutely nothing. Intended as a convenience function for use as a default/placeholder callback.

Parameters

args ← any*
The arguments to unceremoniously toss into a bottomless void, never to be seen again.

print


[%print: values*]

→ any*

Prints the provided values directly to the calling scope's output.

Parameters

values ← any*
The values to print.

Remarks

Because this function does not use an internal output, sinking a call to it will have no effect.

range


[%range: a; b?; step?]

→ range

Creates a new exclusive range with the specified bounds and step value.

  • If a and b are present, range will start at a (inclusive) and end at b (exclusive).
  • If a is present but b is omitted, range will start at 0 (inclusive) and end at a (exclusive).

The step value determines the spacing of the range values and must be a positive integer. A step value of 0 defaults to 1.

The step value does not affect the first value in the range and is only applied on subsequent values.

Parameters

a ← int
The starting (inclusive) bound. Used as the ending (exclusive) bound if b is omitted.

b ← int (optional)
The ending (exclusive) bound.

step ← int (optional)
The absolute difference between adjacent values in the range.

require


[%require: module-path]

Imports the module at the specified relative path and assigns it to a local variable with a name matching the file name.

Rant requires module files to have the .rant extension in order to load them; as such, it is not necessary to supply the file extension in the path.

Parameters

module-path ← string
The path to the module to load.

Example

# Import module `my-module`
[require: my-module]

# Call `hello-world` function in `my-module`
[my-module/hello-world]

seed


[%seed]

→ int

Prints the seed value of the currently active runtime RNG.

type


[%type: value]

→ string

Returns the name of value's type. The type name can be any of the following:

  • string
  • float
  • int
  • bool
  • function
  • list
  • tuple
  • map
  • selector
  • nothing

Parameters

value ← any
The value whose type name to retrieve.

unfork


[%unfork]

Removes the last RNG created by [fork] and resumes use of the previous RNG.