From 1ee6d1b17cbf417adb24db393586f36ab904099a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Giovanni Cappellotto Date: Mon, 1 Jul 2013 16:39:39 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] Learn Erlang in Y minutes --- erlang.html.markdown | 239 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 239 insertions(+) create mode 100644 erlang.html.markdown diff --git a/erlang.html.markdown b/erlang.html.markdown new file mode 100644 index 00000000..6ceb3172 --- /dev/null +++ b/erlang.html.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,239 @@ +--- +language: erlang +author: Giovanni Cappellotto +author_url: http://www.focustheweb.com/ +filename: learnerlang.erl +--- + +```erlang +% Percent sign start a one-line comment. + +%% Two percent characters shall be used to comment functions. + +%%% Three percent characters shall be used to comment modules. + +% We use three types of punctuation in Erlang. +% Commas (`,`) separate arguments in function calls, data constructors, and +% patterns. +% Periods (`.`) (followed by whitespace) separate entire functions and +% expressions in the shell. +% Semicolons (`;`) separate clauses. We find clauses in several contexts: in kn +% function definitions and in `case`, `if`, `try..catch` and `receive` +% expressions. + +%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% +%% 1. Variables and pattern matching. +%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% + +Num = 42. % All variable names must start with an uppercase letter. +% Erlang has single assignment variables, if you try to assign a different value +% to the variable `Num`, you’ll get an error. + +% In most languages, `=` denotes an assignment statement. In Erlang, however, +% `=` denotes a pattern matching operation. `Lhs = Rhs` really means this: +% evaluate the right side (Rhs), and then match the result against the pattern +% on the left side (Lhs). +Num = 7 * 6. + +% Floating point number. +Pi = 3.14159. + +% Atoms, are used to represent different non-numerical constant values. Atoms +% start with lowercase letters, followed by a sequence of alphanumeric +% characters or the underscore (`_`) or at (`@`) sign. +Hello = hello. + +% Tuples are similar to structs in C. +Point = {point, 10, 45}. + +% If we want to extract some values from a tuple, we use the pattern matching +% operator `=`. +{point, X, Y} = Point. % X = 10, Y = 45 + +% We can use `_` as a placeholder for variables that we’re not interested in. +% The symbol `_` is called an anonymous variable. Unlike regular variables, +% several occurrences of _ in the same pattern don’t have to bind to the same +% value. +Person = {person, {name, {first, joe}, {last, armstrong}}, {footsize, 42}}. +{_, {_, {_, Who}, _}, _} = Person. % Who = joe + +% We create a list by enclosing the list elements in square brackets and +% separating them with commas. +% The individual elements of a list can be of any type. +% The first element of a list the head of the list. If you imagine removing the +% head from the list, what’s left is called the tail of the list. +ThingsToBuy = [{apples, 10}, {pears, 6}, {milk, 3}]. + +% If `T` is a list, then `[H|T]` is also a list, with head H and tail T. +% The vertical bar (`|`) separates the head of a list from its tail. +% `[]` is the empty list. +% We can extract elements from a list with a pattern matching operation. If we +% have the nonempty list `L`, then the expression `[X|Y] = L`, where `X` and `Y` +% are unbound variables, will extract the head of the list into `X` and the tail +% of the list into `Y`. +[FirstThing|OtherThingsToBuy] = ThingsToBuy. +% FirstThing = {apples, 10} +% OtherThingsToBuy = {pears, 6}, {milk, 3} + +% There are no strings in Erlang. Strings are really just lists of integers. +% Strings are enclosed in double quotation marks (`"`). +Name = "Hello". + + +%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% +%% 2. Sequential programming. +%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% + +% Modules are the basic unit of code in Erlang. All the functions we write are +% stored in modules. Modules are stored in files with `.erl` extensions. +% Modules must be compiled before the code can be run. A compiled module has the +% extension `.beam`. +-module(geometry). +-export([area/1]). + +% The function area consists of two clauses. The clauses are separated by a +% semicolon, and the final clause is terminated by dot-whitespace. +% Each clause has a head and a body; the head consists of a function name +% followed by a pattern (in parentheses), and the body consists of a sequence of +% expressions, which are evaluated if the pattern in the head is successfully +% matched against the calling arguments. The patterns are matched in the order +% they appear in the function definition. +area({rectangle, Width, Ht}) -> Width * Ht; +area({circle, R}) -> 3.14159 * R * R. + +% Compile the code in the file geometry.erl. +c(geometry). % {ok,geometry} + +% We need to include the module name together with the function name in order to +% identify exactly which function we want to call. +geometry:area({rectangle, 10, 5}). % 50 +geometry:area({circle, 1.4}). % 6.15752 + +% In Erlang, two functions with the same name and different arity in the same +% module represent entirely different functions. +-module(lib_misc). +-export([sum/1]). +sum(L) -> sum(L, 0). +sum([], N) -> N; +sum([H|T], N) -> sum(T, H+N). + +% Funs are "anonymous" functions. They are called this because they have no +% name. +Double = fun(X) -> 2*X end. +Double(2). % 4 + +% Functions accept funs as their arguments and can return funs. +Mult = fun(Times) -> ( fun(X) -> X * Times end ) end. +Triple = Mult(3). +Triple(5). % 15 + +% List comprehensions are expressions that create lists without having to use +% funs, maps, or filters. +% The notation `[F(X) || X <- L]` means "the list of `F(X)` where `X` is taken +% from the list `L`." +L = [1,2,3,4,5]. +[2*X || X <- L]. % [2,4,6,8,10] + +% Guards are constructs that we can use to increase the power of pattern +% matching. Using guards, we can perform simple tests and comparisons on the +% variables in a pattern. +% You can use guards in the heads of function definitions where they are +% introduced by the `when` keyword, or you can use them at any place in the +% language where an expression is allowed. +max(X, Y) when X > Y -> X; +max(X, Y) -> Y. + +% A guard is a series of guard expressions, separated by commas (`,`). +% The guard `GuardExpr1, GuardExpr2, ..., GuardExprN` is true if all the guard +% expressions `GuardExpr1, GuardExpr2, ...` evaluate to true. +is_cat(A) when is_atom(A), A =:= cat -> true; +is_cat(A) -> false. +is_dog(A) when is_atom(A), A =:= dog -> true; +is_dog(A) -> false. + +% A `guard sequence` is either a single guard or a series of guards, separated +%by semicolons (`;`). The guard sequence `G1; G2; ...; Gn` is true if at least +% one of the guards `G1, G2, ...` evaluates to true. +is_pet(A) when is_dog(A); is_cat(A) -> true; +is_pet(A) -> false. + +% Records provide a method for associating a name with a particular element in a +% tuple. +% Record definitions can be included in Erlang source code files or put in files +% with the extension `.hrl`, which are then included by Erlang source code +% files. +-record(todo, { + status = reminder, % Default value + who = joe, + text +}). + +% We have to read the record definitions into the shell before we can define a +% record. We use the shell function `rr` (short for read records) to do this. +rr("records.hrl"). % [todo] + +% Creating and updating records: +X = #todo{}. +% #todo{status = reminder, who = joe, text = undefined} +X1 = #todo{status = urgent, text = "Fix errata in book"}. +% #todo{status = urgent, who = joe, text = "Fix errata in book"} +X2 = X1#todo{status = done}. +% #todo{status = done,who = joe,text = "Fix errata in book"} + +% `case` expressions. +% `filter` returns a list of all those elements `X` in `L` for which `P(X)` is +% true. +filter(P, [H|T]) -> + case P(H) of + true -> [H|filter(P, T)]; + false -> filter(P, T) + end; +filter(P, []) -> []. + +% `if` expressions. +max(X, Y) -> + if + X > Y -> X; + X < Y -> Y; + true -> nil; + end. + +% Warning: at least one of the guards in the if expression must evaluate to true; +% otherwise, an exception will be raised. + + +%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% +%% 3. Exceptions. +%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% + +% Exceptions are raised by the system when internal errors are encountered or +% explicitly in code by calling `throw(Exception)`, `exit(Exception)` or +% `erlang:error(Exception)`. +generate_exception(1) -> a; +generate_exception(2) -> throw(a); +generate_exception(3) -> exit(a); +generate_exception(4) -> {'EXIT', a}; +generate_exception(5) -> erlang:error(a). + +% Erlang has two methods of catching an exception. One is to enclose the call to +% the function, which raised the exception within a `try...catch` expression. +catcher(N) -> + try generate_exception(N) of + Val -> {N, normal, Val} + catch + throw:X -> {N, caught, thrown, X}; + exit:X -> {N, caught, exited, X}; + error:X -> {N, caught, error, X} + end. + +% The other is to enclose the call in a `catch` expression. When you catch an +% exception, it is converted into a tuple that describes the error. +catcher(N) -> catch generate_exception(N). + +``` + +## References + +* "Programming Erlang: Software for a Concurrent World" by Joe Armstrong +* [Erlang - Programming Rules and Conventions](http://www.erlang.se/doc/programming_rules.shtml) +* [Erlang/OTP Documentation](http://www.erlang.org/doc/) \ No newline at end of file