Vocabulary/curlylfco

>> <<   Back to: Vocabulary Thru to: Dictionary

{: y

Tail

Rank Infinity -- operates on x and y as a whole, by items of y -- WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

---

The last item of y

   {: 'abc'
c

---

Common uses

1. Convert a single-item list y into an atom

   'a' -: {: ,'a'
1

2. More generally, take the last item of array y, producing an array of lower rank

   ]z =: i. 3 4
0 1  2  3
4 5  6  7
8 9 10 11
   {: z
8 9 10 11

3. When applied on a list, e.g. the rows of a table, take the last atom on each row

   {:"1 z
3 7 11

---

Related Primitives

Head ({. y), Behead (}. y), Curtail (}: y)

---

More Information

0. A video lab has been created for Tail and is available in jqt and JHS. The videos can be viewed here in complete form Tail monadic verb complete video or as lab components Tail monadic verb Part 1 and Tail monadic verb Part 2

1. Unless y is an atom, the rank of {: y is 1 less than the rank of y. This is different from _1{.y which is a list of items of y (and therefore has the same rank as y unless y is an atom).

({: y) is equivalent to (0 { _1 {. y)

   ]z =: i. 3 4
0 1  2  3
4 5  6  7
8 9 10 11
   {: z
8 9 10 11
   _1 {. z     NB. they look the same...
8 9 10 11
   $ {: z
4
   $ _1 {. z   NB. ...but they have different shapes
1 4

2. If y has no items, {: y produces an item of fill atoms. {:!.f sets the fill atom, which by default is the fill appropriate for the type of y. See Head for examples.

---