Operator Type:
Operator Scope of Action:
Operator Purpose:
Operator First Added:
Operator Altered:
Function [other Function type actions]
Document [operators of similar scope]
Dictionary, Set & List operations [other Dictionary, Set & List operations operators]
9.0.0
dictionary(string)
This operator constructs a new dictionary from a string. The string must contain pairs of keys and values separated by a colon; each key/value pair is separated by a semicolon. For example:
$MyDictionary=dictionary("cat:animal; dog:animal; rock: mineral");
The key "cat" has the value "animal", while the key "rock" has the value "mineral".
Normally the output will be passed to a Dictionary attribute, but if passed to an action code variable the latter should function as if a dictionary.
The operator's input string will be in the form of semi-colon delimited set of key:value pairs, i.e.
$MyDictionary = dictionary("cat:animal; dog:animal; rock:mineral");
Or
$MyString = "cat:animal; dog:animal; rock:mineral";
$MyDictionary = dictionary($MyString);
Direct creation (deprecated)
It is possible that a dictionary can be made by passing an appropriately structured string to a Dictionary type attribute, thus:
$MyDictionary = "cat:animal; dog:animal; rock:mineral";
This latter usage is deprecated and the more explicit dictionary() operator should be used in its place.