Today I Learned

hashrocket A Hashrocket project

Elixir with macro `<-` and `=`

So Elixir with macro accepts Matching clauses <- and Bare expressions =. Both match patterns and do not leak variables assigned inside these structures.

with {:ok, width} <- Map.fetch(%{width: 10}, :width),
  do: {:ok, 2 * width}
#=> {:ok, 20}

with {:ok, width} = Map.fetch(%{width: 10}, :width),
  do: {:ok, 2 * width}
#=> {:ok, 20}

So what is the difference between these?

When a match fails, matching clauses <- returns failed result but bare expressions = raises a MatchError:

with {:ok, width} <- Map.fetch(%{height: 10}, :width),
  do: {:ok, 2 * width}
#=> :error

with {:ok, width} = Map.fetch(%{height: 10}, :width),
  do: {:ok, 2 * width}
#=> ** (MatchError) no match of right hand side value: :error

Another difference is that when guard is only available for matching clause.

with {:ok, width} when is_number(width) <- Map.fetch(%{width: 10}, :width),
  do: {:ok, 2 * width}
#=> {:ok, 20}
See More #elixir TILs
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