HASHSTASH(3)

NAME
hashstash - libbash library that implements hash data structure

SYNOPSIS
hashSet
    <Value> <Key> <HashName> [SubHashName [...]]
$retval hashGet
    <Key> <HashName> [SubHashName [...]]
$retval hashKeys
    <HashName> [SubHashName [...]]
hashRemove
    <Key> <HashName> [SubHashName [...]]
hashDelete
    <HashName> [SubHashName [...]]

DESCRIPTION

  General

hashstash is a collection of functions that implement basic hash data-structure in bash scripting language.

The function list:
hashSet
    Adds a value to the hash
hashGet
    Returns a value from the hash
hashKeys
    Returns a list of keys of the hash
hashRemove
    Removes a key from the hash
hashDelete
    Deletes a hash

Detailed interface description follows.

FUNCTIONS DESCRIPTIONS

  hashSet Value Key Hashname SubHashName ...
Adds a value to the hash.

Parameters:

<Value>
    The value to set in HashName[Key].

<Key>
    The key for the value Value.

<HashName> [SubHashName [...]]
    A string that contains the name of the hash. If the hash is a sub hash of another hash, the "father hash" name MUST BE WRITTEN FIRST, followed by the sub-hash name.

Value will be the value of the key Key in the hash HashName. For example if you have (or want to define) hash C, which is subhash of hash B, which is subhash of hash A, and C has a key named ckey1 with value cval1, then you should use:
    hashSet cval1 ckey1 A B C

  $retval hashGet Key HashName SubHashName ...
Returns the value of Key in HashName to the $retval variable.

Parameters:

<Key>
    The key that hold the value we wish to get.

<HashName> [SubHashName [...]]
    A string that contains the name of the hash. If the hash is a sub hash of another hash, the "father hash" name MUST BE WRITTEN FIRST, followed by the sub-hash name.

Return Value:
The value of the key Key in the hash HashName. The value is returned in the variable $retval.

  $retval hashKeys HashName SubHashName ...
Returns a list of keys of the hash HashName in the variable $retval.

Parameters:

<HashName> [SubHashName [...]]
    A string that contains the name of the hash. If the hash is a sub hash of another hash, the "father hash" name MUST BE WRITTEN FIRST, followed by the sub-hash name.

Return Value:

The value of the key Key in the hash HashName. The value is returned in the variable $retval.

  hashRemove Key HashName SubHashName ...
Removes the key Key from the hash HashName.

<Key>
    The key we wish to remove from HashName.

<HashName> [SubHashName [...]]
    A string that contains the name of the hash. If the hash is a sub hash of another hash, the "father hash" name MUST BE WRITTEN FIRST, followed by the sub-hash name.

This function should also be used to remove a sub-hash from its "father hash". In that case, the key will be the name of the sub-hash.

  hashDelete HashName SubHashName ...
Deletes the hash HashName [SubHashName [...]].

Parameters:

<HashName> [SubHashName [...]]
    A string that contains the name of the hash. If the hash is a sub hash of another hash, the "father hash" name MUST BE WRITTEN FIRST, followed by the sub-hash name.

If this function is used on a sub-hash, a key with the name of the sub-hash will remain in its "father hash" and will hold a NULL value.

BUGS

A hash name can only contain characters that are valid as part of bash variable names (i.e. a-zA-Z0-9_). The same applies for hash keys.

As for now, there is no way of knowing if a key represents a value or a sub-hash. If a sub-hash will be used as a key, the returned value will be its keys list.

EXAMPLES
Define hash table hashA with key Akey1 with value Aval1 use:
    % hashSet Aval1 Akey1 Ahash
Now:
    % hashGet Akey1 Ahash
    % echo $retval
    Aval1
    % hashKeys Ahash
    % echo $retval
    Akey1
    %

HISTORY

The idea to write hashstash library appeared when we've discovered the full power of the bash eval function.

As of the name hashstash, it has two meanings. The first, it means ‘stash’ of hash functions. The second is, that hashstash contains subhashes inside, so it looks like stash of packed information.

AUTHORS
Hai Zaar <haizaar@gmail.com> Gil Ran <gil@ran4.net>

SEE ALSO
ldbash(1), libbash(3)