---- (off topic from the previous question) --- Let's say I have a function like this: `fun doSometh...

# arrow

[davec]

---- (off topic from the previous question) ---
Let's say I have a function like this: fun doSomething(name:String): Either<FailReason,Int> and I have a names:List<String> .
I could do val result:List<Either<FailReason,Int>> = names.map { doSomething(it) } which is going to give me a list of Either
instances. Fine.

Now let's assume I want the iteration to stop upon the first case that doSomething() returns a left. This could be done using a sequence like this:

val result2:Either<FailReason,Int> = names.asSequence().map { doSomething(it) }.first { it is Either.Left }

but it's going to return the first left that fails, or the right that results from the last call to doSomething(). All intermediate "right" values will be discarded.

What if I wanted it to return Either<FailReason,List<Int>> ? Essentially, return the first left (terminating any subsequent calls to doSomething()), or a list of all the rights? Does Arrow provide any help here? (Also I'm not looking for a solution involving while loops or mutable variables.)

[davec]

Here's one possible solution:

fun <F,A,B> Sequence<F>.shortCircuitEither(fn: (F) -> Either<A,B>): Either<A,List<B>> {
        val items = mutableListOf<B>()
        this.forEach {item ->
            fn(item).fold(
                { return it.left() },
                { items.add(it) }
            )
        }
        return items.right()
    }

Usage: val result =names.asSequence().shortCircuitEither { doSomething(it) }

[davec]

Result will be Either a left value containing the first fail, or a List of all the right values.

[pakoito]

what you’re looking for is called sequence , which is a specialised traverse

[pakoito]

names.traverse(Either.applicative()) { doSomething(it) }

[pakoito]

that returns Either<Error, List<Bla>>

if doSomething returns Either<Error, Bla>

[pakoito]

if you already have a List<Either<Error, Bla>> just call sequence(Either.applicative())

[davec]

ah thanks!

[davec]

@pakoito follow on question... traverse doesn't actually return an Either, everything's wrapped in a Kind . Example:

val numbers = listOf(3,5,0,1,10)
fun fn(a:Int):Either<FailReason, Int> = if (a == 0) FailReason.left() else a.right()
val traverseResult:Kind<EitherPartialOf<FailReason>, Kind<ForListK, Int>> =
        numbers.traverse(Either.applicative(), ::fn)

[davec]

So the problem is it's a Kind of an Either with the right of the Either as another Kind. In order to convert all that stuff back into a normal either I could do this:

[davec]

val resultAsEither:Either<FailReason, List<Int>> = traverseResult.fix().flatMap{ it.fix().right() }

[davec]

but is there a better way?

[pakoito]

not at the moment, no

[pakoito]

traverseResult.fix().map{ it.fix() }

[pakoito]

that. It’s not better, just shorter.