📋 TuskLang Bash Arrays Guide

"We don't bow to any king" – Arrays are your data's playground.

Arrays in TuskLang are powerful, flexible collections that integrate seamlessly with Bash. Whether you're managing lists of servers, processing configuration sets, or building dynamic automation, TuskLang arrays are your go-to for structured data.

🎯 What are Arrays?

Arrays are ordered collections of values. In TuskLang, arrays can contain: - Strings, numbers, booleans - Mixed types - Nested arrays - Dynamic values from @ operators

📝 Syntax Styles

TuskLang supports multiple array syntaxes:

INI-style
servers: ["web1", "web2", "web3"]

JSON-like
{
  "ports": [80, 443, 8080],
  "features": ["ssl", "caching", "logging"]
}

XML-inspired
<config>
  <admins>["alice", "bob", "charlie"]</admins>
</config>

🚀 Quick Start Example

#!/bin/bash
source tusk-bash.sh
cat > arrays-quickstart.tsk << 'EOF'
[app]
servers: ["web1.example.com", "web2.example.com"]
ports: [80, 443, 8080]
features: ["ssl", "caching", "logging"]
EOF
config=$(tusk_parse arrays-quickstart.tsk)
echo "Servers: $(tusk_get "$config" app.servers)"
echo "Ports: $(tusk_get "$config" app.ports)"
echo "Features: $(tusk_get "$config" app.features)"

🔗 Real-World Use Cases

1. Server Lists

[infrastructure]
web_servers: ["web1.prod", "web2.prod", "web3.prod"]
db_servers: ["db1.prod", "db2.prod"]

2. Feature Flags

[features]
enabled: ["new_ui", "api_v2", "analytics"]
disabled: ["legacy_auth", "old_dashboard"]

3. Dynamic Arrays

[monitoring]
metrics: @shell("ls /var/log/*.log | head -5")

4. Array Processing in Bash

#!/bin/bash
source tusk-bash.sh
cat > arrays-processing.tsk << 'EOF'
[deploy]
targets: ["staging", "production"]
EOF
config=$(tusk_parse arrays-processing.tsk)
targets=$(tusk_get "$config" deploy.targets)
Convert array string to Bash array
IFS=',' read -ra TARGET_ARRAY <<< "$targets"
for target in "${TARGET_ARRAY[@]}"; do
  echo "Deploying to: $target"
done

🧠 Advanced Array Operations

Array Functions

[data]
numbers: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
sum: @array.sum($numbers)
count: @array.length($numbers)
max: @array.max($numbers)
min: @array.min($numbers)

Array Filtering

[users]
all_users: ["alice", "bob", "charlie", "dave"]
admins: @array.filter($all_users, "contains('admin')")

Array Mapping

[urls]
domains: ["example.com", "test.com"]
https_urls: @array.map($domains, "https://" + $item)

Nested Arrays

[config]
server_groups: [
  ["web1", "web2"],
  ["db1", "db2"],
  ["cache1", "cache2"]
]

🛡️ Security & Performance Notes

- Array size limits: Large arrays can impact performance; consider pagination for massive datasets. - Input validation: Always validate array contents, especially when using @shell or @env. - Memory usage: Arrays are loaded into memory; be mindful of size in resource-constrained environments.

🐞 Troubleshooting

- Array parsing errors: Check for proper comma separation and balanced brackets. - Empty arrays: Use [] for empty arrays, not [""] (which creates an array with one empty string). - Mixed types: Arrays can contain mixed types, but ensure your Bash logic handles this correctly.

💡 Best Practices

- Use descriptive array names that indicate the collection's purpose. - Prefer arrays over comma-separated strings for structured data. - Use @array functions for common operations (sum, filter, map). - Document array structure and expected contents. - Validate array contents with @validate.array() where appropriate.

🔗 Cross-References

- Objects - String Operations - Array Operations

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Master arrays in TuskLang and organize your data like a pro. 📋