Elixir Standard Library

Elixir Standard Library

The Elixir Standard Library is a core part of the Elixir programming language. It provides a wide range of modules and functions that are available out-of-the-box for Elixir developers to use in their applications. These modules cover various areas such as data structures, file handling, string manipulation, process management, and more.

Data Structures

The Elixir Standard Library offers a diverse set of data structures that are commonly used in Elixir programming, including:

• Agent: A simple and convenient way to manage state within Elixir applications.
• Dict: A key-value data structure implemented as an ordered list of key-value pair entries.
• List: Provides functions for working with lists, such as appending, prepending, filtering, and more.
• Map: An unordered key-value store with constant time access for reading, updating, and deleting keys.
• Queue: A FIFO (First-In-First-Out) data structure for managing a collection of elements.

File Handling

The Elixir Standard Library includes modules for various file operations, making it easy to work with files and directories:

• File: Provides functions for reading, writing, and manipulating files on the filesystem.
• File.Stream: A module for reading files as streams, allowing efficient processing of large files.
• Path: Functions for working with file paths, including path concatenation, expansion, and manipulation.

String Manipulation

Manipulating and transforming strings is made simple with the help of the Elixir Standard Library's string modules:

• String: Provides a comprehensive set of functions for working with and manipulating strings.
• String.Chars: Implements the `to_string/1` protocol and provides functions for generating and parsing strings.
• StringIO: A module for creating and manipulating in-memory strings as if they were files.

Process Management

Managing concurrent processes and leveraging Elixir's lightweight concurrency model becomes easier with the Elixir Standard Library's process-specific modules:

• Task: A module for managing and executing asynchronous tasks concurrently.
• GenServer: An OTP behavior that allows you to define servers with a standardized API and built-in error handling and state management.
• Registry: Provides a centralized registry for named processes, allowing efficient process lookups by name.

Additional Modules

In addition to the above-mentioned modules, the Elixir Standard Library contains many more modules that serve various purposes:

• DateTime: Provides functions for working with date and time values.
• Enum: Offers a comprehensive set of functions for working with enumerables such as lists, maps, and streams.
• IO: A module for performing input and output operations, including reading from and writing to streams.

For a complete list of modules and functions available in the Elixir Standard Library, refer to the official Elixir documentation.

See Also

• Elixir Programming Language
• Elixir (programming language)