Lazy(3)

NAME
Lazy - Deferred computations.

Module
Module Lazy

Documentation

Module Lazy
 : sig end

Deferred computations.

type 'a t = 'a CamlinternalLazy.t

A value of type 'a Lazy.t is a deferred computation, called a suspension, that has a result of type 'a . The special expression syntax lazy (expr) makes a suspension of the computation of expr , without computing expr itself yet. "Forcing" the suspension will then compute expr and return its result. Matching a suspension with the special pattern syntax lazy(pattern) also computes the underlying expression and tries to bind it to pattern :

          let lazy_option_map f x =
          match x with
          | lazy (Some x) -> Some (Lazy.force f x)
          | _ -> None

Note: If lazy patterns appear in multiple cases in a pattern-matching, lazy expressions may be forced even outside of the case ultimately selected by the pattern matching. In the example above, the suspension x is always computed.

Note: lazy_t is the built-in type constructor used by the compiler for the lazy keyword. You should not use it directly. Always use Lazy.t instead.

Note: Lazy.force is not concurrency-safe. If you use this module with multiple fibers, systhreads or domains, then you will need to add some locks. The module however ensures memory-safety, and hence, concurrently accessing this module will not lead to a crash but the behaviour is unspecified.

Note: if the program is compiled with the -rectypes option, ill-founded recursive definitions of the form let rec x = lazy x or let rec x = lazy(lazy(...(lazy x))) are accepted by the type-checker and lead, when forced, to ill-formed values that trigger infinite loops in the garbage collector and other parts of the run-time system. Without the -rectypes option, such ill-founded recursive definitions are rejected by the type-checker.

exception Undefined

Raised when forcing a suspension concurrently from multiple fibers, systhreads or domains, or when the suspension tries to force itself recursively.

val force : 'a t -> 'a

force x forces the suspension x and returns its result. If x has already been forced, Lazy.force x returns the same value again without recomputing it. If it raised an exception, the same exception is raised again.

Raises Undefined (see Lazy.Undefined ).

  Iterators

val map : ('a -> 'b) -> 'a t -> 'b t

map f x returns a suspension that, when forced, forces x and applies f to its value.

It is equivalent to lazy (f (Lazy.force x)) .

Since 4.13

  Reasoning on already-forced suspensions

val is_val : 'a t -> bool

is_val x returns true if x has already been forced and did not raise an exception.

Since 4.00

val from_val : 'a -> 'a t

from_val v evaluates v first (as any function would) and returns an already-forced suspension of its result. It is the same as let x = v in lazy x , but uses dynamic tests to optimize suspension creation in some cases.

Since 4.00

val map_val : ('a -> 'b) -> 'a t -> 'b t

map_val f x applies f directly if x is already forced, otherwise it behaves as map f x .

When x is already forced, this behavior saves the construction of a suspension, but on the other hand it performs more work eagerly that may not be useful if you never force the function result.

If f raises an exception, it will be raised immediately when is_val x , or raised only when forcing the thunk otherwise.

If map_val f x does not raise an exception, then is_val (map_val f x) is equal to is_val x .

Since 4.13

  Advanced

The following definitions are for advanced uses only; they require familiarity with the lazy compilation scheme to be used appropriately.

val from_fun : (unit -> 'a) -> 'a t

from_fun f is the same as lazy (f ()) but slightly more efficient.

It should only be used if the function f is already defined. In particular it is always less efficient to write from_fun (fun () -> expr) than lazy expr .

Since 4.00

val force_val : 'a t -> 'a

force_val x forces the suspension x and returns its result. If x has already been forced, force_val x returns the same value again without recomputing it.

If the computation of x raises an exception, it is unspecified whether force_val x raises the same exception or Lazy.Undefined .

Raises Undefined if the forcing of x tries to force x itself recursively.

Raises Undefined (see Lazy.Undefined ).

module Mutexed : sig end