operator to get a shuffled static method ref

[gavinking]

I would really like to be able to write this:

{ "hello", "goodbye" }.map(String!plus(" world"))

Or perhaps even:

{ "hello", "goodbye" }.map(String.plus!(" world"))

Here ! is basically just a shortcut for shuffle(), though it could be compiled to something more optimal.

Yesyes we can already write the above using Iterable.spread():

{ "hello", "goodbye" }.spread(String.plus)(" world")

but that really doesn't handle all usecases. What about this case, for example:

{ "hello", "goodbye" }.every(String!longerThan(10))

[gavinking]

Indeed, you could even generalize this operator to regular functions, so that:

(1..20).map(formatInteger!(16))

Would mean:

(1..20).map(shuffle(curry(formatInteger))(16))

i.e. that is:

(1..20).map((i) => formatInteger(i, 16))

[FroMage]

What does shuffle do? Its name implies random card shuffling and I can't imagine this is what it does to parameters.

[FroMage]

Sounds like what you want to do is partial application of the n+1 parameters. What about partial application of the first n parameters? Or the first and last n,m parameters? Where do we draw the line?

[gavinking]

https://modules.ceylon-lang.org/repo/1/ceylon/language/1.1.0/module-doc/api/index.html#shuffle

[FroMage]

We should seriously consider embargoing every new function to the language module so we can agree on its name. This one is seriously misleading. But then, so are flatten and unflatten already.

[gavinking]

@FroMage it is quite common to want to apply a function to a list of the thing with the same type as its first parameter. It's especially common when the function is a method, and the first "parameter" is the receiver.

[gavinking]

@FroMage Every new function? That one has been there since like before there was a typechecker.

[FroMage]

I agree with you in principle, but I've also seen that other languages with partial application tend to favour the first n parameters, which is at odds with this particular case. And there must be a reason for them to support this, so I suppose it also must be common, no?

[FroMage]

Well, it was new when it was added, and I never saw it ;)

[gavinking]

It is every bit as venerable as compose(), curry() and uncurry(). It predates flatten() and unflatten() IIRC.

[FroMage]

And look, I'm not saying I would have named it better, but you have to admit its name is almost contrary to what it does: it's not random at all.