Immutable
This repository contains generic immutable collection types for Go. It includes
List
, Map
, SortedMap
, Set
and SortedSet
implementations. Immutable collections can
provide efficient, lock free sharing of data by requiring that edits to the
collections return new collections.
The collection types in this library are meant to mimic Go built-in collections
such asslice
and map
. The primary usage difference between Go collections
and immutable
collections is that immutable
collections always return a new
collection on mutation so you will need to save the new reference.
Immutable collections are not for every situation, however, as they can incur additional CPU and memory overhead. Please evaluate the cost/benefit for your particular project.
Special thanks to the Immutable.js
team as the List
& Map
implementations are loose ports from that project.
List
The List
type represents a sorted, indexed collection of values and operates
similarly to a Go slice. It supports efficient append, prepend, update, and
slice operations.
Adding list elements
Elements can be added to the end of the list with the Append()
method or added
to the beginning of the list with the Prepend()
method. Unlike Go slices,
prepending is as efficient as appending.
// Create a list with 3 elements.
l := immutable.NewList[string]()
l = l.Append("foo")
l = l.Append("bar")
l = l.Prepend("baz")
fmt.Println(l.Len()) // 3
fmt.Println(l.Get(0)) // "baz"
fmt.Println(l.Get(1)) // "foo"
fmt.Println(l.Get(2)) // "bar"
Note that each change to the list results in a new list being created. These lists are all snapshots at that point in time and cannot be changed so they are safe to share between multiple goroutines.
Updating list elements
You can also overwrite existing elements by using the Set()
method. In the
following example, we'll update the third element in our list and return the
new list to a new variable. You can see that our old l
variable retains a
snapshot of the original value.
l := immutable.NewList[string]()
l = l.Append("foo")
l = l.Append("bar")
newList := l.Set(2, "baz")
fmt.Println(l.Get(1)) // "bar"
fmt.Println(newList.Get(1)) // "baz"
Deriving sublists
You can create a sublist by using the Slice()
method. This method works with
the same rules as subslicing a Go slice:
l = l.Slice(0, 2)
fmt.Println(l.Len()) // 2
fmt.Println(l.Get(0)) // "baz"
fmt.Println(l.Get(1)) // "foo"
Please note that since List
follows the same rules as slices, it will panic if
you try to Get()
, Set()
, or Slice()
with indexes that are outside of
the range of the List
.
Iterating lists
Iterators provide a clean, simple way to iterate over the elements of the list
in order. This is more efficient than simply calling Get()
for each index.
Below is an example of iterating over all elements of our list from above:
itr := l.Iterator()
for !itr.Done() {
index, value, _ := itr.Next()
fmt.Printf("Index %d equals %v\n", index, value)
}
// Index 0 equals baz
// Index 1 equals foo
By default iterators start from index zero, however, the Seek()
method can be
used to jump to a given index.
Efficiently building lists
If you are building large lists, it is significantly more efficient to use the
ListBuilder
. It uses nearly the same API as List
except that it updates
a list in-place until you are ready to use it. This can improve bulk list
building by 10x or more.
b := immutable.NewListBuilder[string]()
b.Append("foo")
b.Append("bar")
b.Set(2, "baz")
l := b.List()
fmt.Println(l.Get(0)) // "foo"
fmt.Println(l.Get(1)) // "baz"
Builders are invalid after the call to List()
.
Map
The Map
represents an associative array that maps unique keys to values. It
is implemented to act similarly to the built-in Go map
type. It is implemented
as a Hash-Array Mapped Trie.
Maps require a Hasher
to hash keys and check for equality. There are built-in
hasher implementations for most primitive types such as int
, uint
, and
string
keys. You may pass in a nil
hasher to NewMap()
if you are using
one of these key types.
Setting map key/value pairs
You can add a key/value pair to the map by using the Set()
method. It will
add the key if it does not exist or it will overwrite the value for the key if
it does exist.
Values may be fetched for a key using the Get()
method. This method returns
the value as well as a flag indicating if the key existed. The flag is useful
to check if a nil
value was set for a key versus a key did not exist.
m := immutable.NewMap[string,int](nil)
m = m.Set("jane", 100)
m = m.Set("susy", 200)
m = m.Set("jane", 300) // overwrite
fmt.Println(m.Len()) // 2
v, ok := m.Get("jane")
fmt.Println(v, ok) // 300 true
v, ok = m.Get("susy")
fmt.Println(v, ok) // 200, true
v, ok = m.Get("john")
fmt.Println(v, ok) // nil, false
Removing map keys
Keys may be removed from the map by using the Delete()
method. If the key does
not exist then the original map is returned instead of a new one.
m := immutable.NewMap[string,int](nil)
m = m.Set("jane", 100)
m = m.Delete("jane")
fmt.Println(m.Len()) // 0
v, ok := m.Get("jane")
fmt.Println(v, ok) // nil false
Iterating maps
Maps are unsorted, however, iterators can be used to loop over all key/value pairs in the collection. Unlike Go maps, iterators are deterministic when iterating over key/value pairs.
m := immutable.NewMap[string,int](nil)
m = m.Set("jane", 100)
m = m.Set("susy", 200)
itr := m.Iterator()
for !itr.Done() {
k, v := itr.Next()
fmt.Println(k, v)
}
// susy 200
// jane 100
Note that you should not rely on two maps with the same key/value pairs to iterate in the same order. Ordering can be insertion order dependent when two keys generate the same hash.
Efficiently building maps
If you are executing multiple mutations on a map, it can be much more efficient
to use the MapBuilder
. It uses nearly the same API as Map
except that it
updates a map in-place until you are ready to use it.
b := immutable.NewMapBuilder[string,int](nil)
b.Set("foo", 100)
b.Set("bar", 200)
b.Set("foo", 300)
m := b.Map()
fmt.Println(m.Get("foo")) // "300"
fmt.Println(m.Get("bar")) // "200"
Builders are invalid after the call to Map()
.
Implementing a custom Hasher
If you need to use a key type besides int
, uint
, or string
then you'll
need to create a custom Hasher
implementation and pass it to NewMap()
on
creation.
Hashers are fairly simple. They only need to generate hashes for a given key and check equality given two keys.
type Hasher[K any] interface {
Hash(key K) uint32
Equal(a, b K) bool
}
Please see the internal intHasher
, uintHasher
, stringHasher
, and
byteSliceHasher
for examples.
Sorted Map
The SortedMap
represents an associative array that maps unique keys to values.
Unlike the Map
, however, keys can be iterated over in-order. It is implemented
as a B+tree.
Sorted maps require a Comparer
to sort keys and check for equality. There are
built-in comparer implementations for int
, uint
, and string
keys. You may
pass a nil
comparer to NewSortedMap()
if you are using one of these key
types.
The API is identical to the Map
implementation. The sorted map also has a
companion SortedMapBuilder
for more efficiently building maps.
Implementing a custom Comparer
If you need to use a key type besides int
, uint
, or string
or derived types, then you'll
need to create a custom Comparer
implementation and pass it to
NewSortedMap()
on creation.
Comparers on have one methodβCompare()
. It works the same as the
strings.Compare()
function. It returns -1
if a
is less than b
, returns
1
if a is greater than b
, and returns 0
if a
is equal to b
.
type Comparer[K any] interface {
Compare(a, b K) int
}
Please see the internal defaultComparer
for an example, bearing in mind that it works for several types.
Set
The Set
represents a collection of unique values, and it is implemented as a
wrapper around a Map[T, struct{}]
.
Like Maps, Sets require a Hasher
to hash keys and check for equality. There are built-in
hasher implementations for most primitive types such as int
, uint
, and
string
keys. You may pass in a nil
hasher to NewSet()
if you are using
one of these key types.
Sorted Set
The SortedSet
represents a sorted collection of unique values.
Unlike the Set
, however, keys can be iterated over in-order. It is implemented
as a B+tree.
Sorted sets require a Comparer
to sort values and check for equality. There are
built-in comparer implementations for int
, uint
, and string
keys. You may
pass a nil
comparer to NewSortedSet()
if you are using one of these key
types.
The API is identical to the Set
implementation.
Contributing
The goal of immutable
is to provide stable, reasonably performant, immutable
collections library for Go that has a simple, idiomatic API. As such, additional
features and minor performance improvements will generally not be accepted. If
you have a suggestion for a clearer API or substantial performance improvement,
please open an issue first to discuss. All pull requests without a related
issue will be closed immediately.
Please submit issues relating to bugs & documentation improvements.