JavaScript variable assignments from tuples

Question

In other languages like Python 2 and Python 3, you can define and assign values to a tuple variable, and retrieve their values like this:

tuple = (\"Bob\", 2         


        

Answer 1

You can have a tuple type in Javascript as well. Just define it with higher order functions (the academic term is Church encoding):

const Tuple = (...args) => {
  const Tuple = f => f(...args);
  return Object.freeze(Object.assign(Tuple, args));
};

const get1 = tx => tx((x, y) => x);

const get2 = tx => tx((x, y) => y);

const bimap = f => g => tx => tx((x, y) => Tuple(f(x), g(y)));

const toArray = tx => tx((...args) => args);

// aux functions

const inc = x => x + 1;
const toUpperCase = x => x.toUpperCase();

// mock data

const pair = Tuple(1, "a");

// application

console.assert(get1(pair) === 1);
console.assert(get2(pair) === "a");

const {0:x, 1:y} = pair;
console.log(x, y); // 1 a

console.log(toArray(bimap(inc) (toUpperCase) (pair))); // [2, "A"]

const map = new Map([Tuple(1, "a"), Tuple(2, "b")]);
console.log(map.get(1), map.get(2)); // a b

Please note that Tuple isn't used as a normal constructor. The solution doesn't rely on the prototype system at all, but solely on higher order functions.

What are the advantages of tuples over Arrays used like tuples? Church encoded tuples are immutable by design and thus prevent side effects caused by mutations. This helps to build more robust applications. Additionally, it is easier to reason about code that distinguishes between Arrays as a collection type (e.g. [a]) and tuples as related data of various types (e.g. (a, b)).