Operator Type:
Operator Scope of Action:
Operator Purpose:
Operator First Added:
Operator Altered:
Function [other Function type actions]
Item [operators of similar scope]
Data manipulation [other Data manipulation operators]
Baseline
List.at(N)
This returns the Nth value of the List as a string. List can be either Set or List type attributes (or string literal, regex pattern, or expression equivalents thereof).
Note: for accessing look-up tables, use list.lookup().
The operator is zero-based, i.e. an N value of 0 returns the first list item, an N of 1 returns value #2, etc. If the value of N exceeds the number of items in the list an empty string (blank value) is returned. A negative number returns an item numbering in reverse, but one-based not zero-based, so '-1' returns the last item on the list, '-2' the last but one item, etc.
Examples (where $MyList is "ant;bee;cow"):
$MyString = $MyList.at(0);
returns "ant"
$MyString = "XX;YY;ZZ".at(2);
returns "ZZ"
$MyString = $MyList.at(5);
returns "" (nothing)
$MyString = $MyList.at(-2);
returns "bee"
Legacy use (pre-v8)
List.at("key")
This usage is deprecated, use List/Set.lookup("key") instead. The remainder of this section is for explanation of legacy code use only.
The .at() function is also useful for accessing values from look-up tables by providing the relevant key. Consider a look-up list:
$RegionList="AL:South;AK:NorthWest;default:North";
This now allows actions like:
$Region=$RegionList.at("AL");
or
$Region=$RegionList.at($State);