Dictionary Variables??

[Planet_Fall]

Is there a dictionary variable for Turing like Ruby or Python? I'm trying to make a Periodic Table for Chemistry Class.

Turing:

/*  Programmer: Planet_Fall  File Name:  Mole Mass  */ %Variables var H, Li, Be, B, C, N, O, F, Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca : real H := 1.00794 Li := 6.941 Be := 9.012182 B := 10.811 C := 12.0107 N := 14.0067 O := 15.994 F := 18.99840 Na := 22.989770 Mg := 24.3050 Al := 26.981538 Si := 28.0855 P := 30.97376 S := 32.065 Cl := 35.453 K := 39.0983 Ca := 40.078 put  H, Li, Be, B, C, N, O, F, Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, Na, Mg

Please specify what version of Turing you are using
Turing 4.1.1

[Raknarg]

No such thing as dictionaries here. However because you have an ordered set of information, it would make more sense anyways just to use arrays, like so:

Turing:

type elementData:     record         symbol : string         mass : real     end record var element : array 1 .. numElements of elementData element (1).symbol := "H" element (1).mass := 1.00794 element (2).symbol := "Li" %etc, etc

You could simplify it further by doing this:

Turing:

function set_element (symbol : string, mass : real) : elementData     var newElement : elementData     newElement.symbol := symbol     newElement.mass := mass     result newElement end set_element element (1) := set_element ("H", 1.0079)

[Tony]

One of the advantages of a dictionary / hashmap, is that one can get the value 1.00794 by referencing element("H"), instead of element(1).

As Raknarg points out, hashmaps are not build into Turing.

[Raknarg]

I understand, but unless you want to build a hash table for Turing, that's what you get.

Unless you wanted to build a data structure that worked like a very slow dictionary.

[evildaddy911]

i feel like i should point out your missing helium...

[np_123]

Neon (Ne) and Argon (Ar) are missing from that list too...
Unless you're purposely not including the noble gases

[scholarlytutor]

I stumbled upon this old thread and I wanted to point out two workarounds:

If you were just writing a simple program, which I once did, to output a chemical name when the user types a key like H, a case block works:

var element: string

case element of

label "H":

put "Hydrogen"

label "He":

put "Helium"

end case

And so on. See my attachment.


A more clever workaround uses enumerations:

type Element : enum(H, He, Li)

var PeriodicTable: array Element of string := init("Hydrogen", "Helium", "Lithium")

put PeriodicTable (Element.H)


It is more inconvenient because you have to write the 'Element.' each time before a key, but when you really need something that imitates a dictionary in Turing, this is the best solution I could think of.