Elixir Data Types

Elixir Data Types

Elixir is a dynamically typed, functional programming language that supports a variety of data types. In this article, we will explore the different data types available in Elixir and discuss their characteristics and usage.

Numbers

Elixir provides support for integers and floats as the two main numeric data types.

Integers

Integers in Elixir are represented by the `Integer` module and can be of arbitrary precision. Elixir supports binary, octal, decimal, and hexadecimal representations for integers.

Floats

Floats in Elixir are represented by the `Float` module and are implemented as double-precision floating-point numbers according to the IEEE 754 standard.

Atoms

Atoms are constants whose name is their own value. They are often used to represent states, as function arguments, or as keys in maps and keyword lists.

Atoms are defined by a leading `:` and can contain letters, numbers, underscores, and `@`. Examples of atoms include `:ok`, `:error`, or `:apple`.

Booleans

Elixir provides the boolean data type with two possible values: `true` and `false`. Booleans are commonly used in conditional statements and logical operations.

Strings

Elixir supports string literals, which are enclosed in double quotes (`"`) or triple double quotes (`"""`). Strings are represented as UTF-8 encoded binaries.

Elixir also provides a wide range of string manipulation functions through the `String` module for tasks such as concatenation, interpolation, and pattern matching.

Lists

Lists in Elixir are ordered collections of elements. They can contain elements of different data types and are enclosed in square brackets (`[` and `]`).

Elixir lists support pattern matching, concatenation, and a variety of functions such as `hd` (returns the head element) and `tl` (returns the tail elements).

Tuples

Tuples in Elixir are ordered collections of elements enclosed in curly braces (`{` and `}`). Unlike lists, tuples are stored contiguously in memory and have a fixed size.

Tuples can contain elements of different data types and are commonly used to return multiple values from a function or represent a collection of related values.

Maps

Maps in Elixir are key-value data structures where keys and values can be of any data type. They are represented by a `%{}` syntax and are enclosed in curly braces.

Maps can be used to store and retrieve values efficiently and support functions like `put`, `get`, `update`, and `delete` for manipulation.

Binaries

Binaries in Elixir are sequences of bytes. They are represented using the `<<>>` syntax and can contain any data, including integers, floats, and strings.

Elixir provides a set of functions in the `Bitwise` module to manipulate binary data, such as bitwise operators, binary pattern matching, and bit string comprehensions.

PID

A PID (process identifier) in Elixir represents a reference to a process. It is created when a process is spawned and can be used to send messages or monitor the process.

References

References in Elixir are unique identifiers that are guaranteed to be unique across all nodes in a distributed system. They can be created using the `make_ref/0` function.

References are commonly used for generating unique values, as part of supervisor strategies, or in distributed transactions.

Functions

Functions in Elixir are first-class citizens and can be assigned to variables, passed as arguments, or returned from other functions. They are the building blocks of functional programming.

Elixir supports anonymous functions as well as named functions defined using the `def` keyword. Functions can have multiple clauses and pattern matching is used to determine which one to invoke.

Conclusion

In this article, we have explored the different data types available in Elixir. Understanding these data types and their characteristics is essential for writing expressive and robust Elixir code. For further information on specific data types or advanced topics, refer to the related articles on this Elixir wiki.