Returns the additive identity of this type.

This is an empty array.

Creates a new Array, allocating an internal buffer with the given capacity, and yielding that buffer. The given block must return the desired size of the array.

This method is unsafe, but is usually used to initialize the buffer by passing it to a C function.

Array.build(3) do |buffer|
  LibSome.fill_buffer_and_return_number_of_elements_filled(buffer)
end

Creates a new Array of the given size filled with the same value in each position.

Array.new(3, 'a') # => ['a', 'a', 'a']

ary = Array.new(3, [1])
ary # => [[1], [1], [1]]
ary[0][0] = 2
ary # => [[2], [2], [2]]

Creates a new empty Array backed by a buffer that is initially initial_capacity big.

The initial_capacity is useful to avoid unnecessary reallocations of the internal buffer in case of growth. If you have an estimate of the maximum number of elements an array will hold, the array should be initialized with that capacity for improved performance.

ary = Array(Int32).new(5)
ary.size # => 0

Creates a new empty Array.

Creates a new Array of the given size and invokes the given block once for each index of self, assigning the block's value in that index.

Array.new(3) { |i| (i + 1) ** 2 } # => [1, 4, 9]

ary = Array.new(3) { [1] }
ary # => [[1], [1], [1]]
ary[0][0] = 2
ary # => [[2], [1], [1]]

Yields each ordered combination of the elements taken from each of the arrays as Arrays. Traversal of elements starts from the last given array.

DEPRECATED Use Indexable.each_cartesian(indexables : Indexable(Indexable), reuse = false, &block) instead

Yields each ordered combination of the elements taken from each of the arrays as Arrays. Traversal of elements starts from the last given array.

DEPRECATED Use Indexable.each_cartesian(indexables : Indexable(Indexable), reuse = false, &block) instead

Parses a String or IO denoting a JSON array, yielding each of its elements to the given block. This is useful for decoding an array and processing its elements without creating an Array in memory, which might be expensive.

require "json"

Array(Int32).from_json("[1, 2, 3]") do |element|
  puts element
end

Output:

1
2
3

To parse and get an Array, use the block-less overload.

Returns an Array of all ordered combinations of elements taken from each of the arrays as Arrays. Traversal of elements starts from the last given array.

DEPRECATED Use Indexable.cartesian_product(indexables : Indexable(Indexable)) instead

Returns an Array of all ordered combinations of elements taken from each of the arrays as Arrays. Traversal of elements starts from the last given array.

DEPRECATED Use Indexable.cartesian_product(indexables : Indexable(Indexable)) instead

Set intersection: returns a new Array containing elements common to self and other, excluding any duplicates. The order is preserved from self.

[1, 1, 3, 5] & [1, 2, 3]               # => [ 1, 3 ]
['a', 'b', 'b', 'z'] & ['a', 'b', 'c'] # => [ 'a', 'b' ]

See also: #uniq.

Repetition: Returns a new Array built by concatenating times copies of self.

["a", "b", "c"] * 2 # => [ "a", "b", "c", "a", "b", "c" ]

Concatenation. Returns a new Array built by concatenating self and other. The type of the new array is the union of the types of both the original arrays.

[1, 2] + ["a"]  # => [1,2,"a"] of (Int32 | String)
[1, 2] + [2, 3] # => [1,2,2,3]

Difference. Returns a new Array that is a copy of self, removing any items that appear in other. The order of self is preserved.

[1, 2, 3] - [2, 1] # => [3]

Append. Alias for #push.

a = [1, 2]
a << 3 # => [1,2,3]

Combined comparison operator.

Returns -1, 0 or 1 depending on whether self is less than other, equals other or is greater than other.

It compares the elements of both arrays in the same position using the <=> operator. As soon as one of such comparisons returns a non-zero value, that result is the return value of the comparison.

If all elements are equal, the comparison is based on the size of the arrays.

[8] <=> [1, 2, 3] # => 1
[2] <=> [4, 2, 3] # => -1
[1, 2] <=> [1, 2] # => 0

Equality. Returns true if each element in self is equal to each corresponding element in other.

ary = [1, 2, 3]
ary == [1, 2, 3] # => true
ary == [2, 3]    # => false

Returns false (other can only be a Value here).

Returns count or less (if there aren't enough) elements starting at the given start index.

Negative start is added to self.size, thus it's treated as index counting from the end of the array, -1 designating the last element.

Raises IndexError if start index is out of bounds. Raises ArgumentError if count is negative.

a = ["a", "b", "c", "d", "e"]
a[-3, 3] # => ["c", "d", "e"]
a[1, 2]  # => ["b", "c"]
a[5, 1]  # => []
a[6, 1]  # raises IndexError

Returns all elements that are within the given range.

The first element in the returned array is self[range.begin] followed by the next elements up to index range.end (or self[range.end - 1] if the range is exclusive). If there are fewer elements in self, the returned array is shorter than range.size.

a = ["a", "b", "c", "d", "e"]
a[1..3] # => ["b", "c", "d"]
# range.end > array.size
a[3..7] # => ["d", "e"]

Open ended ranges are clamped at the start and end of the array, respectively.

# open ended ranges
a[2..] # => ["c", "d", "e"]
a[..2] # => ["a", "b", "c"]

Negative range values are added to self.size, thus they are treated as indices counting from the end of the array, -1 designating the last element.

# negative indices, both ranges are equivalent for `a`
a[1..3]   # => ["b", "c", "d"]
a[-4..-2] # => ["b", "c", "d"]
# Mixing negative and positive indices, both ranges are equivalent for `a`
a[1..-2] # => ["b", "c", "d"]
a[-4..3] # => ["b", "c", "d"]

Raises IndexError if the start index is out of range (range.begin > self.size || range.begin < -self.size). If range.begin == self.size an empty array is returned. If range.begin > range.end, an empty array is returned.

# range.begin > array.size
a[6..10] # raise IndexError
# range.begin == array.size
a[5..10] # => []
# range.begin > range.end
a[3..1]   # => []
a[-2..-4] # => []
a[-2..1]  # => []
a[3..-4]  # => []

Replaces a subrange with the elements of the given array.

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a[1, 3] = [6, 7, 8]
a # => [1, 6, 7, 8, 5]

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a[1, 3] = [6, 7]
a # => [1, 6, 7, 5]

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a[1, 3] = [6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
a # => [1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 5]

Replaces a subrange with a single value. All elements in the range start...start+count are removed and replaced by a single element value.

If count is zero, value is inserted at start.

Negative values of start count from the end of the array.

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a[1, 3] = 6
a # => [1, 6, 5]

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a[1, 0] = 6
a # => [1, 6, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Replaces a subrange with the elements of the given array.

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a[1..3] = [6, 7, 8]
a # => [1, 6, 7, 8, 5]

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a[1..3] = [6, 7]
a # => [1, 6, 7, 5]

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a[1..3] = [6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
a # => [1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 5]

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a[2..] = [6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
a # => [1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

Replaces a subrange with a single value.

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a[1..3] = 6
a # => [1, 6, 5]

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a[1...1] = 6
a # => [1, 6, 2, 3, 4, 5]

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a[2...] = 6
a # => [1, 2, 6]

Replaces a subrange with the elements of the given array.

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a[1, 3] = [6, 7, 8]
a # => [1, 6, 7, 8, 5]

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a[1, 3] = [6, 7]
a # => [1, 6, 7, 5]

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a[1, 3] = [6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
a # => [1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 5]

DEPRECATED Use #[]=(start, count, values) instead

Replaces a subrange with a single value. All elements in the range start...start+count are removed and replaced by a single element value.

If count is zero, value is inserted at start.

Negative values of start count from the end of the array.

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a[1, 3] = 6
a # => [1, 6, 5]

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a[1, 0] = 6
a # => [1, 6, 2, 3, 4, 5]

DEPRECATED Use #[]=(start, count, value) instead

Like #[](Int, Int) but returns nil if the start index is out of range.

Like #[](Range), but returns nil if range.begin is out of range.

a = ["a", "b", "c", "d", "e"]
a[6..10]? # => nil
a[6..]?   # => nil

Set union: returns a new Array by joining self with other, excluding any duplicates, and preserving the order from self.

["a", "b", "c"] | ["c", "d", "a"] # => [ "a", "b", "c", "d" ]

See also: #uniq.

Removes all elements from self.

a = ["a", "b", "c", "d", "e"]
a.clear # => []

Returns a new Array that has self's elements cloned. That is, it returns a deep copy of self.

Use #dup if you want a shallow copy.

ary = [[1, 2], [3, 4]]
ary2 = ary.clone
ary[0][0] = 5
ary  # => [[5, 2], [3, 4]]
ary2 # => [[1, 2], [3, 4]]

ary2 << [7, 8]
ary  # => [[5, 2], [3, 4]]
ary2 # => [[1, 2], [3, 4], [7, 8]]

Returns a copy of self with all nil elements removed.

["a", nil, "b", nil, "c", nil].compact # => ["a", "b", "c"]

Removes all nil elements from self and returns self.

ary = ["a", nil, "b", nil, "c"]
ary.compact!
ary # => ["a", "b", "c"]

Appends the elements of other to self, and returns self.

ary = ["a", "b"]
ary.concat(["c", "d"])
ary # => ["a", "b", "c", "d"]

Removes all items from self that are equal to obj.

Returns the last found element that was equal to obj, if any, or nil if not found.

a = ["a", "b", "b", "b", "c"]
a.delete("b") # => "b"
a             # => ["a", "c"]

a.delete("x") # => nil
a             # => ["a", "c"]

Removes count elements from self starting at start. If the size of self is less than count, removes values to the end of the array without error. Returns an array of the removed elements with the original order of self preserved. Raises IndexError if start is out of range.

a = ["ant", "bat", "cat", "dog"]
a.delete_at(1, 2)  # => ["bat", "cat"]
a                  # => ["ant", "dog"]
a.delete_at(99, 1) # raises IndexError

Removes the element at index, returning that element. Raises IndexError if index is out of range.

a = ["ant", "bat", "cat", "dog"]
a.delete_at(2)  # => "cat"
a               # => ["ant", "bat", "dog"]
a.delete_at(99) # raises IndexError

Removes all elements within the given range. Returns an array of the removed elements with the original order of self preserved. Raises IndexError if the index is out of range.

a = ["ant", "bat", "cat", "dog"]
a.delete_at(1..2)    # => ["bat", "cat"]
a                    # => ["ant", "dog"]
a.delete_at(99..100) # raises IndexError

Removes count elements from self starting at start. If the size of self is less than count, removes values to the end of the array without error. Returns an array of the removed elements with the original order of self preserved. Raises IndexError if start is out of range.

a = ["ant", "bat", "cat", "dog"]
a.delete_at(1, 2)  # => ["bat", "cat"]
a                  # => ["ant", "dog"]
a.delete_at(99, 1) # raises IndexError

DEPRECATED Use #delete_at(start, count) instead

Returns a new Array that has exactly self's elements. That is, it returns a shallow copy of self.

Use #clone if you want a deep copy.

ary = [[1, 2], [3, 4]]
ary2 = ary.dup
ary[0][0] = 5
ary  # => [[5, 2], [3, 4]]
ary2 # => [[5, 2], [3, 4]]

ary2 << [7, 8]
ary  # => [[5, 2], [3, 4]]
ary2 # => [[5, 2], [3, 4], [7, 8]]

Yields each index of self, starting at start, to the given block and then assigns the block's value in that position. Returns self.

Negative values of start count from the end of the array.

Raises IndexError if start is outside the array range.

a = [1, 2, 3, 4]
a.fill(2) { |i| i * i } # => [1, 2, 4, 9]

DEPRECATED Use #fill(start.., &) instead

Yields each index of self, starting at start, to the given block and then assigns the block's value in that position. Returns self.

Negative values of start count from the end of the array.

Raises IndexError if start is outside the array range.

a = [1, 2, 3, 4]
a.fill(2) { |i| i * i } # => [1, 2, 4, 9]

DEPRECATED Use #fill(start.., &) instead

Yields each index of self, starting at start and just count times, to the given block and then assigns the block's value in that position. Returns self.

Negative values of start count from the end of the array.

Raises IndexError if start is outside the array range.

Has no effect if count is zero or negative.

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
a.fill(2, 2) { |i| i * i } # => [1, 2, 4, 9, 5, 6]

DEPRECATED Use Indexable::Mutable#fill(start, count, &) instead

Replaces count or less (if there aren't enough) elements starting at the given start index with value. Returns self.

Negative values of start count from the end of the container.

Raises IndexError if the start index is out of range.

Raises ArgumentError if count is negative.

array = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
array.fill(9, 2, 2) # => [1, 2, 9, 9, 5]
array               # => [1, 2, 9, 9, 5]

Replaces every element in self, starting at start, with the given value. Returns self.

Negative values of start count from the end of the array.

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a.fill(9, 2) # => [1, 2, 9, 9, 9]

DEPRECATED Use #fill(value, start..) instead

Replaces every element in range with value. Returns self.

Negative values of from count from the end of the array.

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a.fill(9, 2..3) # => [1, 2, 9, 9, 5]

Replaces every element in self with the given value. Returns self.

array = [1, 2, 3, 4]
array.fill(2) # => [2, 2, 2, 2]
array         # => [2, 2, 2, 2]

Replaces every element in self, starting at start, with the given value. Returns self.

Negative values of start count from the end of the array.

a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
a.fill(9, 2) # => [1, 2, 9, 9, 9]

DEPRECATED Use #fill(value, start..) instead

Replaces count or less (if there aren't enough) elements starting at the given start index with value. Returns self.

Negative values of start count from the end of the container.

Raises IndexError if the start index is out of range.

Raises ArgumentError if count is negative.

array = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
array.fill(9, 2, 2) # => [1, 2, 9, 9, 5]
array               # => [1, 2, 9, 9, 5]

DEPRECATED Use #fill(value, start, count) instead

Returns the first n elements of the array.

[1, 2, 3].first(2) # => [1, 2]
[1, 2, 3].first(4) # => [1, 2, 3]

Returns a new Array that is a one-dimensional flattening of self (recursively).

That is, for every element that is an array or an iterator, extract its elements into the new array.

s = [1, 2, 3]          # => [1, 2, 3]
t = [4, 5, 6, [7, 8]]  # => [4, 5, 6, [7, 8]]
u = [9, [10, 11].each] # => [9, #<Indexable::ItemIterator>]
a = [s, t, u, 12, 13]  # => [[1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6, [7, 8]], 9, #<Indexable::ItemIterator>, 12, 13]
a.flatten              # => [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13]

Returns the index of the first appearance of object in self starting from the given offset, or nil if object is not in self.

[1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3].index(2, offset: 2) # => 4

Insert object before the element at index and shifting successive elements, if any. Returns self.

Negative values of index count from the end of the array.

a = ["a", "b", "c"]
a.insert(0, "x")  # => ["x", "a", "b", "c"]
a.insert(2, "y")  # => ["x", "a", "y", "b", "c"]
a.insert(-1, "z") # => ["x", "a", "y", "b", "c", "z"]

Appends a String representation of this object which includes its class name, its object address and the values of all instance variables.

class Person
  def initialize(@name : String, @age : Int32)
  end
end

Person.new("John", 32).inspect # => #<Person:0x10fd31f20 @name="John", @age=32>

Returns the last n elements of the array.

[1, 2, 3].last(2) # => [2, 3]
[1, 2, 3].last(4) # => [1, 2, 3]

Optimized version of Enumerable#map.

Optimized version of Enumerable#map_with_index.

Accepts an optional offset parameter, which tells it to start counting from there.

gems = ["crystal", "pearl", "diamond"]
results = gems.map_with_index { |gem, i| "#{i}: #{gem}" }
results # => ["0: crystal", "1: pearl", "2: diamond"]

Removes the last n values from self, at index size - 1. This method returns an array of the removed values, with the original order preserved.

If n is greater than the size of self, all values will be removed from self without raising an error.

a = ["a", "b", "c"]
a.pop(2) # => ["b", "c"]
a        # => ["a"]

a = ["a", "b", "c"]
a.pop(4) # => ["a", "b", "c"]
a        # => []

See also: #truncate.

Removes the last value from self, at index size - 1. This method returns the removed value. Raises IndexError if array is of 0 size.

a = ["a", "b", "c"]
a.pop # => "c"
a     # => ["a", "b"]

See also: #truncate.

Removes the last value from self. If the array is empty, the given block is called.

a = [1]
a.pop { "Testing" } # => 1
a.pop { "Testing" } # => "Testing"

See also: #truncate.

Like #pop, but returns nil if self is empty.

See also: #truncate.

Returns an Array of all ordered combinations of elements taken from each of self and ary as Tuples. Traversal of elements starts from ary.

DEPRECATED Use Indexable#cartesian_product(*others : Indexable) instead

Yields each ordered combination of the elements taken from each of self and enumerable as a Tuple. Traversal of elements starts from enumerable.

DEPRECATED Use Indexable#each_cartesian(*others : Indexable, &block) instead

Append. Pushes one value to the end of self, given that the type of the value is T (which might be a single type or a union of types). This method returns self, so several calls can be chained. See #pop for the opposite effect.

a = ["a", "b"]
a.push("c") # => ["a", "b", "c"]
a.push(1)   # Errors, because the array only accepts String.

a = ["a", "b"] of (Int32 | String)
a.push("c") # => ["a", "b", "c"]
a.push(1)   # => ["a", "b", "c", 1]

Append multiple values. The same as #push, but takes an arbitrary number of values to push into self. Returns self.

a = ["a"]
a.push("b", "c") # => ["a", "b", "c"]

Modifies self, deleting the elements in the collection for which the passed block is truthy. Returns self.

ary = [1, 6, 2, 4, 8]
ary.reject! { |x| x > 3 }
ary # => [1, 2]

See also: Array#reject.

Modifies self, deleting the elements in the collection for which pattern === element.

ary = [1, 6, 2, 4, 8]
ary.reject!(3..7)
ary # => [1, 2, 8]

See also: Array#select!.

Replaces the contents of self with the contents of other. This resizes the Array to a greater capacity but does not free memory if the given array is smaller.

a1 = [1, 2, 3]
a1.replace([1])
a1                    # => [1]
a1.remaining_capacity # => 3
a2 = [1]
a2.replace([1, 2, 3])
a2 # => [1, 2, 3]

Returns an array with all the elements in the collection reversed.

a = [1, 2, 3]
a.reverse # => [3, 2, 1]

Returns an array with all the elements shifted to the left n times.

a = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
a.rotate    # => [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0]
a.rotate(1) # => [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0]
a.rotate(3) # => [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, 1, 2]
a           # => [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]

Shifts all elements of self to the left n times. Returns self.

a1 = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
a2 = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
a3 = [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]

a1.rotate!
a2.rotate!(1)
a3.rotate!(3)

a1 # => [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0]
a2 # => [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0]
a3 # => [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, 1, 2]

Modifies self, keeping only the elements in the collection for which the passed block is truthy. Returns self.

ary = [1, 6, 2, 4, 8]
ary.select! { |x| x > 3 }
ary # => [6, 4, 8]

See also: Array#select.

Modifies self, keeping only the elements in the collection for which pattern === element.

ary = [1, 6, 2, 4, 8]
ary.select!(3..7)
ary # => [6, 4]

See also: Array#reject!.

Removes the first n values of self, starting at index 0. This method returns an array of the removed values.

If n is greater than the size of self, all values will be removed from self without raising an error.

a = ["a", "b", "c"]
a.shift # => "a"
a       # => ["b", "c"]

a = ["a", "b", "c"]
a.shift(4) # => ["a", "b", "c"]
a          # => []

See also: #truncate.

Removes the first value of self, at index 0. This method returns the removed value. If the array is empty, it raises IndexError.

a = ["a", "b", "c"]
a.shift # => "a"
a       # => ["b", "c"]

See also: #truncate.

Removes the first value of self, at index 0, or otherwise invokes the given block. This method returns the removed value. If the array is empty, it invokes the given block and returns its value.

a = ["a"]
a.shift { "empty!" } # => "a"
a                    # => []
a.shift { "empty!" } # => "empty!"
a                    # => []

See also: #truncate.

Removes the first value of self, at index 0. This method returns the removed value. If the array is empty, it returns nil without raising any error.

a = ["a", "b"]
a.shift? # => "a"
a        # => ["b"]
a.shift? # => "b"
a        # => []
a.shift? # => nil
a        # => []

See also: #truncate.

Returns an array with all the elements in the collection randomized using the given random number generator.

Returns the number of elements in the array.

[:foo, :bar].size # => 2

Returns an Array with the first count elements removed from the original array.

If count is bigger than the number of elements in the array, returns an empty array.

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].skip(3) # => [4, 5, 6]

Returns a new instance with all elements sorted based on the return value of their comparison method T#<=> (see Comparable#<=>), using a stable sort algorithm.

a = [3, 1, 2]
a.sort # => [1, 2, 3]
a      # => [3, 1, 2]

See Indexable::Mutable#sort! for details on the sorting mechanism.

Raises ArgumentError if the comparison between any two elements returns nil.

Returns a new instance with all elements sorted based on the comparator in the given block, using a stable sort algorithm.

a = [3, 1, 2]
b = a.sort { |a, b| b <=> a }

b # => [3, 2, 1]
a # => [3, 1, 2]

See Indexable::Mutable#sort!(&block : T, T -> U) for details on the sorting mechanism.

Raises ArgumentError if for any two elements the block returns nil.

Sorts all elements in self based on the return value of the comparison method T#<=> (see Comparable#<=>), using a stable sort algorithm.

a = [3, 1, 2]
a.sort!
a # => [1, 2, 3]

This sort operation modifies self. See #sort for a non-modifying option that allocates a new instance.

See Slice#sort! for details on the implementation.

Raises ArgumentError if the comparison between any two elements returns nil.

Sorts all elements in self based on the comparator in the given block, using a stable sort algorithm.

The block must implement a comparison between two elements a and b, where a < b returns -1, a == b returns 0, and a > b returns 1. The comparison operator <=> can be used for this.

a = [3, 1, 2]
# This is a reverse sort (forward sort would be `a <=> b`)
a.sort! { |a, b| b <=> a }
a # => [3, 2, 1]

This sort operation modifies self. See #sort(&block : T, T -> U) for a non-modifying option that allocates a new instance.

See Slice#sort!(&block : T, T -> U) for details on the implementation.

Raises ArgumentError if for any two elements the block returns nil.

Returns a new instance with all elements sorted by the output value of the block. The output values are compared via the comparison method T#<=> (see Comparable#<=>), using a stable sort algorithm.

a = %w(apple pear fig)
b = a.sort_by { |word| word.size }
b # => ["fig", "pear", "apple"]
a # => ["apple", "pear", "fig"]

If stability is expendable, #unstable_sort_by(&block : T -> _) provides a performance advantage over stable sort.

See Indexable::Mutable#sort_by!(&block : T -> _) for details on the sorting mechanism.

Raises ArgumentError if the comparison between any two comparison values returns nil.

Sorts all elements in self by the output value of the block. The output values are compared via the comparison method #<=> (see Comparable#<=>), using a stable sort algorithm.

a = %w(apple pear fig)
a.sort_by! { |word| word.size }
a # => ["fig", "pear", "apple"]

This sort operation modifies self. See #sort_by(&block : T -> _) for a non-modifying option that allocates a new instance.

If stability is expendable, #unstable_sort_by!(&block : T -> _) provides a performance advantage over stable sort.

See #sort!(&block : T -> _) for details on the sorting mechanism.

Raises ArgumentError if the comparison between any two comparison values returns nil.

Returns an Array with all the elements in the collection.

{1, 2, 3}.to_a # => [1, 2, 3]

Prints a nicely readable and concise string representation of this array to io.

The result resembles an array literal but it does not necessarily compile.

Each element is presented using its #inspect(io) result to avoid ambiguity.

Returns a pointer to the internal buffer where self's elements are stored.

This method is unsafe because it returns a pointer, and the pointed might eventually not be that of self if the array grows and its internal buffer is reallocated.

ary = [1, 2, 3]
ary.to_unsafe[0] # => 1

Assumes that self is an array of arrays and transposes the rows and columns.

a = [[:a, :b], [:c, :d], [:e, :f]]
a.transpose # => [[:a, :c, :e], [:b, :d, :f]]
a           # => [[:a, :b], [:c, :d], [:e, :f]]

Removes all elements except the count or less (if there aren't enough) elements starting at the given start index. Returns self.

Negative values of start count from the end of the array.

Raises IndexError if the start index is out of range.

Raises ArgumentError if count is negative.

a = [0, 1, 4, 9, 16, 25]
a.truncate(2, 3) # => [4, 9, 16]
a                # => [4, 9, 16]

See also: #pop, #shift.

Removes all elements except those within the given range. Returns self.

a = [0, 1, 4, 9, 16, 25]
a.truncate(1..-3) # => [1, 4, 9]
a                 # => [1, 4, 9]

Returns a new Array by removing duplicate values in self.

a = ["a", "a", "b", "b", "c"]
a.uniq # => ["a", "b", "c"]
a      # => [ "a", "a", "b", "b", "c" ]

Returns a new Array by removing duplicate values in self, using the block's value for comparison.

a = [{"student", "sam"}, {"student", "george"}, {"teacher", "matz"}]
a.uniq { |s| s[0] } # => [{"student", "sam"}, {"teacher", "matz"}]
a                   # => [{"student", "sam"}, {"student", "george"}, {"teacher", "matz"}]

Removes duplicate elements from self. Returns self.

a = ["a", "a", "b", "b", "c"]
a.uniq! # => ["a", "b", "c"]
a       # => ["a", "b", "c"]

Removes duplicate elements from self, using the block's value for comparison. Returns self.

a = [{"student", "sam"}, {"student", "george"}, {"teacher", "matz"}]
a.uniq! { |s| s[0] } # => [{"student", "sam"}, {"teacher", "matz"}]
a                    # => [{"student", "sam"}, {"teacher", "matz"}]

Returns the element at the given index, without doing any bounds check.

Indexable makes sure to invoke this method with index in 0...size, so converting negative indices to positive ones is not needed here.

Clients never invoke this method directly. Instead, they access elements with #[](index) and #[]?(index).

This method should only be directly invoked if you are absolutely sure the index is in bounds, to avoid a bounds check for a small boost of performance.

Sets the element at the given index to value, without doing any bounds check.

Indexable::Mutable makes sure to invoke this method with index in 0...size, so converting negative indices to positive ones is not needed here.

Clients never invoke this method directly. Instead, they modify elements with #[]=(index, value).

This method should only be directly invoked if you are absolutely sure the index is in bounds, to avoid a bounds check for a small boost of performance.

Prepend. Adds object to the beginning of self, given that the type of the value is T (which might be a single type or a union of types). This method returns self, so several calls can be chained. See #shift for the opposite effect.

a = ["a", "b"]
a.unshift("c") # => ["c", "a", "b"]
a.unshift(1)   # Errors, because the array only accepts String.

a = ["a", "b"] of (Int32 | String)
a.unshift("c") # => ["c", "a", "b"]
a.unshift(1)   # => [1, "c", "a", "b"]

Prepend multiple values. The same as #unshift, but takes an arbitrary number of values to add to the array. Returns self.

Returns a new instance with all elements sorted based on the return value of their comparison method T#<=> (see Comparable#<=>), using an unstable sort algorithm.

a = [3, 1, 2]
a.unstable_sort # => [1, 2, 3]
a               # => [3, 1, 2]

See Indexable::Mutable#unstable_sort! for details on the sorting mechanism.

Raises ArgumentError if the comparison between any two elements returns nil.

Returns a new instance with all elements sorted based on the comparator in the given block, using an unstable sort algorithm.

a = [3, 1, 2]
b = a.unstable_sort { |a, b| b <=> a }

b # => [3, 2, 1]
a # => [3, 1, 2]

See Indexable::Mutable#unstable_sort!(&block : T, T -> U) for details on the sorting mechanism.

Raises ArgumentError if for any two elements the block returns nil.

Sorts all elements in self based on the return value of the comparison method T#<=> (see Comparable#<=>), using an unstable sort algorithm.

a = [3, 1, 2]
a.unstable_sort!
a # => [1, 2, 3]

This sort operation modifies self. See #unstable_sort for a non-modifying option that allocates a new instance.

See Slice#unstable_sort! for details on the implementation.

Raises ArgumentError if the comparison between any two elements returns nil.

Sorts all elements in self based on the comparator in the given block, using an unstable sort algorithm.

The block must implement a comparison between two elements a and b, where a < b returns -1, a == b returns 0, and a > b returns 1. The comparison operator <=> can be used for this.

a = [3, 1, 2]
# This is a reverse sort (forward sort would be `a <=> b`)
a.unstable_sort! { |a, b| b <=> a }
a # => [3, 2, 1]

This sort operation modifies self. See #unstable_sort(&block : T, T -> U) for a non-modifying option that allocates a new instance.

See Slice#unstable_sort!(&block : T, T -> U) for details on the implementation.

Raises ArgumentError if for any two elements the block returns nil.

Returns a new instance with all elements sorted by the output value of the block. The output values are compared via the comparison method #<=> (see Comparable#<=>), using an unstable sort algorithm.

a = %w(apple pear fig)
b = a.unstable_sort_by { |word| word.size }
b # => ["fig", "pear", "apple"]
a # => ["apple", "pear", "fig"]

If stability is necessary, use #sort_by(&block : T -> _) instead.

See Indexable::Mutable#unstable_sort!(&block : T -> _) for details on the sorting mechanism.

Raises ArgumentError if the comparison between any two comparison values returns nil.

Sorts all elements in self by the output value of the block. The output values are compared via the comparison method #<=> (see Comparable#<=>), using an unstable sort algorithm.

a = %w(apple pear fig)
a.unstable_sort_by! { |word| word.size }
a # => ["fig", "pear", "apple"]

This sort operation modifies self. See #unstable_sort_by(&block : T -> _) for a non-modifying option that allocates a new instance.

If stability is necessary, use #sort_by!(&block : T -> _) instead.

See #unstable_sort!(&block : T -> _) for details on the sorting mechanism.

Raises ArgumentError if the comparison between any two comparison values returns nil.