Skip to main content

ZefLists

What is a ZefList?​

a builtin mechanism to expand a regular list (as in a value [42, 'hello', True]) into a "flattened out" data structure on a graph that does not lose the semantic meaning.

How do I create a ZefList?​

my_obj = ET.Protocol(  
    actions = [  
        'install Python',  
        'pip install zef',  
        'get going'  
    ]  
)  
  
db = DB()  
z1 = transact(my_obj, db)

Fields which are Python lists or tuples are automatically converted to ZefLists.

How do I convert a ZefList into a regular Python list?​

z1 | Fs.actions | collect   # returns the original list  
z1.actions                 # also returns the original list

Both the field operator (F), as well as the dot-notation provide a high level syntax that automatically hooks into the ZefList mechanism.

What does a ZefList concretely look like on a graph?​

If we were to look at a DB state for the above data, we would see.
!ZefDoc - ZefList 2022-11-14 12.31.00.excalidraw
The RT.ZEF_NextListElement relations exist to define a unique order.

If this is the Graph Structure, how can I explicitly traverse it?​

The operators 

In  
Out  
Ins  
Out  
in_rels  
out_rels

operate at this lower semantic level (in contrast to the field operators F and Fs).

Do Zef Lists also work on FlatGraphs?​

Yes, in exactly the same way.

  • if ordering is not important, ZefDoc - Set