# GenSequence
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Small library to simplify working with Generators and Iterators in Javascript / Typescript
Javascript [Iterators and Generators](https://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/Iterators_and_Generators)
are very exciting and provide some powerful new ways to solve programming problems.
The purpose of this library is to make using the results of a generator function easier.
It is not intended as a replacement for arrays and the convenient `[...genFn()]` notation.
GenSequence is useful for cases where you might not want an array of all possible values.
GenSequence deals efficiently with large sequences because only one element at a time is evaluated.
Intermediate arrays are not created, saving memory and cpu cycles.
## Installation
```
npm install -S gensequence
```
## Usage
### Javascript
```
const { genSequence } = require("gensequence");
```
or
```
import { genSequence } from "gensequence";
```
### Typescript
```
import { genSequence } from 'gensequence';
```
## Examples
### Fibonacci
The Fibonacci sequence can be very simply expressed using a generator. Yet using the result of a generator can be a bit convoluted.
GenSequence provides a wrapper to add familiar functionality similar to arrays.
```javascript
function fibonacci() {
function* fib() {
let [a, b] = [0, 1];
while (true) {
yield b;
[a, b] = [b, a + b];
}
}
// Wrapper the Iterator result from calling the generator.
return genSequence(fib);
}
let fib5 = fibonacci()
.take(5) // Take the first 5 from the fibonacci sequence
.toArray(); // Convert it into an array
// fib5 == [1, 1, 2, 3, 5]
let fib6n7seq = fibonacci().skip(5).take(2);
let fib6n7arr = [...fib6n7seq]; // GenSequence are easily converted into arrays.
let fib5th = fibonacci()
.skip(4) // Skip the first 4
.first(); // Return the next one.
```
### RegEx Match
Regular expressions are wonderfully powerful. Yet, working with the results can sometimes be a bit of a pain.
```javascript
function* execRegEx(reg: RegExp, text: string) {
const regLocal = new RegExp(reg);
let r;
while ((r = regLocal.exec(text))) {
yield r;
}
}
/* return a sequence of matched text */
function match(reg: RegExp, text: string) {
return (
genSequence(execRegEx(reg, text))
// extract the full match
.map((a) => a[0])
);
}
/* extract words out of a string of text */
function matchWords(text: string) {
return genSequence(match(/\w+/g, text));
}
/* convert some text into a set of unique words */
function toSetOfWords(text: string) {
// Sequence can be used directly with a Set or Match
return new Set(matchWords(text));
}
const text = 'Some long bit of text with many words, duplicate words...';
const setOfWords = toSetOfWords(text);
// Walk through the set of words and pull out the 4 letter one.
const setOf4LetterWords = new Set(genSequence(setOfWords).filter((a) => a.length === 4));
```
## Reference
- `genSequence(Iterable|Array|()=>Iterable)` -- generate a new Iterable from an Iterable, Array or function with the following functions.
### Filters
- `.filter(fn)` -- just like array.filter, filters the sequence
- `.skip(n)` -- skip _n_ entries in the sequence
- `.take(n)` -- take the next _n_ entries in the sequence.
### Extenders
- `.concat(iterable)` -- this will extend the current sequence with the values from _iterable_
- `.concatMap(fnMap)` -- this is used to flatten the result of a map function.
### Mappers
- `.combine(fnCombiner, iterable)` -- is used to combine values from two different lists.
- `.map(fn)` -- just like array.map, allows you to convert the values in a sequence.
- `.pipe(...operatorFns)` -- pipe any amount of operators in sequence.
- `.scan(fn, init?)` -- similar to reduce, but returns a sequence of all the results of fn.
### Reducers
- `.all(fn)` -- true if all values in the sequence return true for _fn(value)_ or the sequence is empty.
- `.any(fn)` -- true if any value in the sequence exists where _fn(value)_ returns true.
- `.count()` -- return the number of values in the sequence.
- `.first()` -- return the next value in the sequence.
- `.first(fn)` -- return the next value in the sequence where _fn(value)_ return true.
- `.forEach(fn)` -- apply _fn(value, index)_ to all values.
- `.max()` -- return the largest value in the sequence.
- `.max(fn)` -- return the largest value of _fn(value)_ in the sequence.
- `.min()` -- return the smallest value in the sequence.
- `.min(fn)` -- return the smallest value of _fn(value)_ in the sequence.
- `.reduce(fn, init?)` -- just like array.reduce, reduces the sequence into a single result.
- `.reduceAsync(fn, init?)` -- just like array.reduce, reduces promises into the sequence into a single result chaining the promises, fn/init can be async or not, it will work, the previousValue, and currentValue will never be a promise.
- `.reduceToSequence(fn, init)` -- return a sequence of values that _fn_ creates from looking at all the values and the initial sequence.
### Cast
- `.toArray()` -- convert the sequence into an array. This is the same as [...iterable].
- `.toIterable()` -- Casts a Sequence into an IterableIterator - used in cases where type checking is too strict.