array(3Tcl)

NAME
     array - Manipulate array variables

SYNOPSIS
     array option arrayName ?arg arg ...?


DESCRIPTION
     This command performs one of several operations on the variable given by
     arrayName.  Unless otherwise specified for individual commands below,
     arrayName must be the name of an existing array variable.  The option
     argument determines what action is carried out by the command.  The legal
     options (which may be abbreviated) are:

     array anymore arrayName searchId
          Returns 1 if there are any more elements left to be processed in an
          array search, 0 if all elements have already been returned.
          SearchId indicates which search on arrayName to check, and must have
          been the return value from a previous invocation of array
          startsearch.  This option is particularly useful if an array has an
          element with an empty name, since the return value from array
          nextelement won't indicate whether the search has been completed.

     array donesearch arrayName searchId
          This command terminates an array search and destroys all the state
          associated with that search.  SearchId indicates which search on
          arrayName to destroy, and must have been the return value from a
          previous invocation of array startsearch.  Returns an empty string.

     array exists arrayName
          Returns 1 if arrayName is an array variable, 0 if there is no       |
          variable by that name or if it is a scalar variable.

     array get arrayName ?pattern?
          Returns a list containing pairs of elements.  The first element in  |
          each pair is the name of an element in arrayName and the second     |
          element of each pair is the value of the array element.  The order  |
          of the pairs is undefined.  If pattern is not specified, then all of|
          the elements of the array are included in the result.  If pattern is|
          specified, then only those elements whose names match pattern (using|
          the glob-style matching rules of string match) are included.  If
          arrayName isn't the name of an array variable, or if the array
          contains no elements, then an empty list is returned.

     array names arrayName ?pattern?
          Returns a list containing the names of all of the elements in the   |
          array that match pattern (using the glob-style matching rules of    |
          string match).  If pattern is omitted then the command returns all  |
          of the element names in the array.  If there are no (matching)      |
          elements in the array, or if arrayName isn't the name of an array   |
          variable, then an empty string is returned.
     array nextelement arrayName searchId
          Returns the name of the next element in arrayName, or an empty
          string if all elements of arrayName have already been returned in
          this search.  The searchId argument identifies the search, and must
          have been the return value of an array startsearch command.
          Warning:  if elements are added to or deleted from the array, then
          all searches are automatically terminated just as if array
          donesearch had been invoked; this will cause array nextelement
          operations to fail for those searches.

     array set arrayName list
          Sets the values of one or more elements in arrayName.  list must    |
          have a form like that returned by array get, consisting of an even  |
          number of elements.  Each odd-numbered element in list is treated as|
          an element name within arrayName, and the following element in list |
          is used as a new value for that array element.

     array size arrayName
          Returns a decimal string giving the number of elements in the array.|
          If arrayName isn't the name of an array then 0 is returned.

     array startsearch arrayName
          This command initializes an element-by-element search through the
          array given by arrayName, such that invocations of the array
          nextelement command will return the names of the individual elements
          in the array.  When the search has been completed, the array
          donesearch command should be invoked.  The return value is a search
          identifier that must be used in array nextelement and array
          donesearch commands; it allows multiple searches to be underway
          simultaneously for the same array.


KEYWORDS
     array, element names, search