path: root/lib/elixir/pages/syntax-reference.md

# Syntax reference

Elixir syntax was designed to have a straightforward conversion to an abstract syntax tree (AST). This means the Elixir syntax is mostly uniform with a handful of "syntax sugar" constructs to reduce the noise in common Elixir idioms.

This document covers all of Elixir syntax constructs as a reference and then discuss their exact AST representation.

## Reserved words

These are the reserved words in the Elixir language. They are detailed throughout this guide but summed up here for convenience:

  * `true`, `false`, `nil` - used as atoms
  * `when`, `and`, `or`, `not`, `in` - used as operators
  * `fn` - used for anonymous function definitions
  * `do`, `end`, `catch`, `rescue`, `after`, `else` - used in do-end blocks

## Data types

### Numbers

Integers (`1234`) and floats (`123.4`) in Elixir are represented as a sequence of digits that may be separated by underscore for readability purposes, such as `1_000_000`. Integers never contain a dot (`.`) in their representation. Floats contain a dot and at least one other digit after the dot. Floats also support the scientific notation, such as `123.4e10` or `123.4E10`.

### Atoms

Unquoted atoms start with a colon (`:`) which must be immediately followed by a Unicode letter or an underscore. The atom may continue using a sequence of Unicode letters, numbers, underscores, and `@`. Atoms may end in `!` or `?`. Valid unquoted atoms are: `:ok`, `:ISO8601`, and `:integer?`.

If the colon is immediately followed by a pair of double- or single-quotes surrounding the atom name, the atom is considered quoted. In contrast with an unquoted atom, this one can be made of any Unicode character (not only letters), such as `:'🌢 Elixir'`, `:"++olá++"`, and `:"123"`.

Quoted and unquoted atoms with the same name are considered equivalent, so `:atom`, `:"atom"`, and `:'atom'` represent the same atom. The only catch is that the compiler will warn when quotes are used in atoms that do not need to be quoted.

All operators in Elixir are also valid atoms. Valid examples are `:foo`, `:FOO`, `:foo_42`, `:foo@bar`, and `:++`. Invalid examples are `:@foo` (`@` is not allowed at start), `:123` (numbers are not allowed at start), and `:(*)` (not a valid operator).

`true`, `false`, and `nil` are reserved words that are represented by the atoms `:true`, `:false` and `:nil` respectively.

To learn more about all Unicode characters allowed in atom, see the [Unicode syntax](unicode-syntax.md) document.

### Strings

Single-line strings in Elixir are written between double-quotes, such as `"foo"`. Any double-quote inside the string must be escaped with `\ `. Strings support Unicode characters and are stored as UTF-8 encoded binaries.

Multi-line strings in Elixir are written with three double-quotes, and can have unescaped quotes within them. The resulting string will end with a newline. The indentation of the last `"""` is used to strip indentation from the inner string. For example:

```
iex> test = """
...>     this
...>     is
...>     a
...>     test
...> """
"    this\n    is\n    a\n    test\n"
iex> test = """
...>     This
...>     Is
...>     A
...>     Test
...>     """
"This\nIs\nA\nTest\n"
```

Strings are always represented as themselves in the AST.

### Charlists

Charlists in Elixir are written in single-quotes, such as `'foo'`. Any single-quote inside the string must be escaped with `\ `. Charlists are made of non-negative integers, where each integer represents a Unicode code point.

Multi-line charlists are written with three single-quotes (`'''`), the same way multi-line strings are.

Charlists are always represented as themselves in the AST.

For more in-depth information, please read the "Charlists" section in the `List` module.

### Lists, tuples and binaries

Data structures such as lists, tuples, and binaries are marked respectively by the delimiters `[...]`, `{...}`, and `<<...>>`. Each element is separated by comma. A trailing comma is also allowed, such as in `[1, 2, 3,]`.

### Maps and keyword lists

Maps use the `%{...}` notation and each key-value is given by pairs marked with `=>`, such as `%{"hello" => 1, 2 => "world"}`.

Both keyword lists (list of two-element tuples where the first element is atom) and maps with atom keys support a keyword notation where the colon character `:` is moved to the end of the atom. `%{hello: "world"}` is equivalent to `%{:hello => "world"}` and `[foo: :bar]` is equivalent to `[{:foo, :bar}]`. This notation is a syntax sugar that emits the same AST representation. It will be explained in later sections.

### Structs

Structs built on the map syntax by passing the struct name between `%` and `{`. For example, `%User{...}`.

## Expressions

### Variables

Variables in Elixir must start with an underscore or a Unicode letter that is not in uppercase or titlecase. The variable may continue using a sequence of Unicode letters, numbers, and underscores. Variables may end in `?` or `!`. To learn more about all Unicode characters allowed in variables, see the [Unicode syntax](unicode-syntax.md) document.

[Elixir's naming conventions](naming-conventions.md) recommend variables to be in `snake_case` format.

### Non-qualified calls (local calls)

Non-qualified calls, such as `add(1, 2)`, must start with characters and then follow the same rules as as variables, which are optionally followed by parentheses, and then arguments.

Parentheses are required for zero-arity calls (i.e. calls without arguments), to avoid ambiguity with variables. If parentheses are used, they must immediately follow the function name *without spaces*. For example, `add (1, 2)` is a syntax error, since `(1, 2)` is treated as an invalid block which is attempted to be given as a single argument to `add`.

[Elixir's naming conventions](naming-conventions.md) recommend calls to be in `snake_case` format.

### Operators

As many programming languages, Elixir also support operators as non-qualified calls with their precedence and associativity rules. Constructs such as `=`, `when`, `&` and `@` are simply treated as operators. See [the Operators page](operators.md) for a full reference.

### Qualified calls (remote calls)

Qualified calls, such as `Math.add(1, 2)`, must start with characters and then follow the same rules as as variables, which are optionally followed by parentheses, and then arguments. Qualified calls also support operators, such as `Kernel.+(1, 2)`. Elixir also allows the function name to be written between double- or single-quotes, allowing any character in between the quotes, such as `Math."++add++"(1, 2)`.

Similar to non-qualified calls, parentheses have different meaning for zero-arity calls (i.e. calls without arguments). If parentheses are used, such as `mod.fun()`, it means a function call. If parenthesis are skipped, such as `map.field`, it means accessing a field of a map.

[Elixir's naming conventions](naming-conventions.md) recommend calls to be in `snake_case` format.

### Aliases

Aliases are constructs that expand to atoms at compile-time. The alias `String` expands to the atom `:"Elixir.String"`. Aliases must start with an ASCII uppercase character which may be followed by any ASCII letter, number, or underscore. Non-ASCII characters are not supported in aliases.

Multiple aliases can be joined with `.`, such as `MyApp.String`, and it expands to the atom `:"Elixir.MyApp.String"`. The dot is effectively part of the name but it can also be used for composition. If you define `alias MyApp.Example, as: Example` in your code, then `Example` will always expand to `:"Elixir.MyApp.Example"` and `Example.String` will expand to `:"Elixir.MyApp.Example.String"`.

[Elixir's naming conventions](naming-conventions.md) recommend aliases to be in `CamelCase` format.

### Module attributes

Module attributes are module-specific storage and are written as the composition of the unary operator `@` with variables and local calls. For example, to write to a module attribute named `foo`, use `@foo "value"`, and use `@foo` to read from it. Given module attributes are written using existing constructs, they follow the same rules above defined for operators, variables, and local calls.

### Blocks

Blocks are multiple Elixir expressions separated by newlines or semi-colons. A new block may be created at any moment by using parentheses.

### Left to right arrow

The left to right arrow (`->`) is used to establish a relationship between left and right, commonly referred as clauses. The left side may have zero, one, or more arguments; the right side is zero, one, or more expressions separated by new line. The `->` may appear one or more times between one of the following terminators: `do`-`end`, `fn`-`end` or `(`-`)`. When `->` is used, only other clauses are allowed between those terminators. Mixing clauses and regular expressions is invalid syntax.

It is seen on `case` and `cond` constructs between `do` and `end`:

```elixir
case 1 do
  2 -> 3
  4 -> 5
end

cond do
  true -> false
end
```

Seen in typespecs between `(` and `)`:

```elixir
(integer(), boolean() -> integer())
```

It is also used between `fn` and `end` for building anonymous functions:

```elixir
fn
  x, y -> x + y
end
```

### Sigils

Sigils start with `~` and are followed by one lowercase letter or by one or more uppercase letters, immediatelly followed by one of the following pairs:

  * `(` and `)`
  * `{` and `}`
  * `[` and `]`
  * `<` and `>`
  * `"` and `"`
  * `'` and `'`
  * `|` and `|`
  * `/` and `/`

After closing the pair, zero or more ASCII letters and digits can be given as a modifier. Sigils are expressed as non-qualified calls prefixed with `sigil_` where the first argument is the sigil contents as a string and the second argument is a list of integers as modifiers:

If the sigil letter is in uppercase, no interpolation is allowed in the sigil, otherwise its contents may be dynamic. Compare the results of the sigils below for more information:

```elixir
~s/f#{"o"}o/
~S/f#{"o"}o/
```

Sigils are useful to encode text with their own escaping rules, such as regular expressions, datetimes, and others.

## The Elixir AST

Elixir syntax was designed to have a straightforward conversion to an abstract syntax tree (AST). Elixir's AST is a regular Elixir data structure composed of the following elements:

  * atoms - such as `:foo`
  * integers - such as `42`
  * floats - such as `13.1`
  * strings - such as `"hello"`
  * lists - such as `[1, 2, 3]`
  * tuples with two elements - such as `{"hello", :world}`
  * tuples with three elements, representing calls or variables, as explained next

The building block of Elixir's AST is a call, such as:

```elixir
sum(1, 2, 3)
```

which is represented as a tuple with three elements:

```elixir
{:sum, meta, [1, 2, 3]}
```

the first element is an atom (or another tuple), the second element is a list of two-element tuples with metadata (such as line numbers) and the third is a list of arguments.

We can retrieve the AST for any Elixir expression by calling `quote`:

```elixir
quote do
  sum()
end
#=> {:sum, [], []}
```

Variables are also represented using a tuple with three elements and a combination of lists and atoms, for example:

```elixir
quote do
  sum
end
#=> {:sum, [], Elixir}
```

You can see that variables are also represented with a tuple, except the third element is an atom expressing the variable context.

Over the course of this section, we will explore many Elixir syntax constructs alongside their AST representations.

### Operators

Operators are treated as non-qualified calls:

```elixir
quote do
  1 + 2
end
#=> {:+, [], [1, 2]}
```

Note that `.` is also an operator. Remote calls use the dot in the AST with two arguments, where the second argument is always an atom:

```elixir
quote do
  foo.bar(1, 2, 3)
end
#=> {{:., [], [{:foo, [], Elixir}, :bar]}, [], [1, 2, 3]}
```

Calling anonymous functions uses the dot in the AST with a single argument, mirroring the fact the function name is "missing" from right side of the dot:

```elixir
quote do
  foo.(1, 2, 3)
end
#=> {{:., [], [{:foo, [], Elixir}]}, [], [1, 2, 3]}
```

### Aliases

Aliases are represented by an `__aliases__` call with each segment separated by a dot as an argument:

```elixir
quote do
  Foo.Bar.Baz
end
#=> {:__aliases__, [], [:Foo, :Bar, :Baz]}

quote do
  __MODULE__.Bar.Baz
end
#=> {:__aliases__, [], [{:__MODULE__, [], Elixir}, :Bar, :Baz]}
```

All arguments, except the first, are guaranteed to be atoms.

### Data structures

Remember that lists are literals, so they are represented as themselves in the AST:

```elixir
quote do
  [1, 2, 3]
end
#=> [1, 2, 3]
```

Tuples have their own representation, except for two-element tuples, which are represented as themselves:

```elixir
quote do
  {1, 2}
end
#=> {1, 2}

quote do
  {1, 2, 3}
end
#=> {:{}, [], [1, 2, 3]}
```

Binaries have a representation similar to tuples, except they are tagged with `:<<>>` instead of `:{}`:

```elixir
quote do
  <<1, 2, 3>>
end
#=> {:<<>>, [], [1, 2, 3]}
```

The same applies to maps, where each pair is treated as a list of tuples with two elements:

```elixir
quote do
  %{1 => 2, 3 => 4}
end
#=> {:%{}, [], [{1, 2}, {3, 4}]}
```

### Blocks

Blocks are represented as a `__block__` call with each line as a separate argument:

```elixir
quote do
  1
  2
  3
end
#=> {:__block__, [], [1, 2, 3]}

quote do 1; 2; 3; end
#=> {:__block__, [], [1, 2, 3]}
```

### Left to right arrow

The left to right arrow (`->`) is represented similar to operators except that they are always part of a list, its left side represents a list of arguments and the right side is an expression.

For example, in `case` and `cond`:

```elixir
quote do
  case 1 do
    2 -> 3
    4 -> 5
  end
end
#=> {:case, [], [1, [do: [{:->, [], [[2], 3]}, {:->, [], [[4], 5]}]]]}

quote do
  cond do
    true -> false
  end
end
#=> {:cond, [], [[do: [{:->, [], [[true], false]}]]]}
```

Between `(` and `)`:

```elixir
quote do
  (1, 2 -> 3
   4, 5 -> 6)
end
#=> [{:->, [], [[1, 2], 3]}, {:->, [], [[4, 5], 6]}]
```

Between `fn` and `end`:

```elixir
quote do
  fn
    1, 2 -> 3
    4, 5 -> 6
  end
end
#=> {:fn, [], [{:->, [], [[1, 2], 3]}, {:->, [], [[4, 5], 6]}]}
```

### Qualified tuples

Qualified tuples (`foo.{bar, baz}`) are represented by a `{:., [], [expr, :{}]}` call, where the `expr` represents the left hand side of the dot, and the arguments represent the elements inside the curly braces. This is used in Elixir to provide multi aliases:

```elixir
quote do
  Foo.{Bar, Baz}
end
#=> {{:., [], [{:__aliases__, [], [:Foo]}, :{}]}, [], [{:__aliases__, [], [:Bar]}, {:__aliases__, [], [:Baz]}]}
```

## Optional syntax

All of the constructs above are part of Elixir's syntax and have their own representation as part of the Elixir AST. This section will discuss the remaining constructs that are alternative representations of the constructs above. In other words, the constructs below can be represented in more than one way in your Elixir code and retain AST equivalence. We call this "Optional Syntax".

For a lightweight introduction to Elixir's Optional Syntax, [see this document](https://elixir-lang.org/getting-started/optional-syntax.html). Below we continue with a more complete reference.

### Integers in other bases and Unicode code points

Elixir allows integers to contain `_` to separate digits and provides conveniences to represent integers in other bases:

```elixir
1_000_000
#=> 1000000

0xABCD
#=> 43981 (Hexadecimal base)

0o01234567
#=> 342391 (Octal base)

0b10101010
#=> 170 (Binary base)

?é
#=> 233 (Unicode code point)
```

Those constructs exist only at the syntax level. All of the examples above are represented as their underlying integers in the AST.

### Access syntax

The access syntax is represented as a call to `Access.get/2`:

```elixir
quote do
  opts[arg]
end
#=> {{:., [], [Access, :get]}, [], [{:opts, [], Elixir}, {:arg, [], Elixir}]}
```

### Optional parentheses

Elixir provides optional parentheses:

```elixir
quote do
  sum 1, 2, 3
end
#=> {:sum, [], [1, 2, 3]}
```

The above is treated the same as `sum(1, 2, 3)` by the parser. You can remove the parentheses on all calls with at least one argument.

You can also skip parentheses on qualified calls, such as `Foo.bar 1, 2, 3`. Parentheses are required when invoking anonymous functions, such as `f.(1, 2, 3)`.

In practice, developers prefer to add parentheses to most of their calls. They are skipped mainly in Elixir's control-flow constructs, such as `defmodule`, `if`, `case`, etc, and in certain DSLs.

### Keywords

Keywords in Elixir are a list of tuples of two elements, where the first element is an atom. Using the base constructs, they would be represented as:

```elixir
[{:foo, 1}, {:bar, 2}]
```

However, Elixir introduces a syntax sugar where the keywords above may be written as follows:

```elixir
[foo: 1, bar: 2]
```

Atoms with foreign characters, such as whitespace, must be wrapped in quotes. This rule applies to keywords as well:

```elixir
[{:"foo bar", 1}, {:"bar baz", 2}] == ["foo bar": 1, "bar baz": 2]
```

Remember that, because lists and two-element tuples are quoted literals, by definition keywords are also literals (in fact, the only reason tuples with two elements are quoted literals is to support keywords as literals).

### Keywords as last arguments

Elixir also supports a syntax where if the last argument of a call is a keyword list then the square brackets can be skipped. This means that the following:

```elixir
if(condition, do: this, else: that)
```

is the same as

```elixir
if(condition, [do: this, else: that])
```

which in turn is the same as

```elixir
if(condition, [{:do, this}, {:else, that}])
```

### `do`-`end` blocks

The last syntax convenience are `do`-`end` blocks. `do`-`end` blocks are equivalent to keywords as the last argument of a function call, where the block contents are wrapped in parentheses. For example:

```elixir
if true do
  this
else
  that
end
```

is the same as:

```elixir
if(true, do: (this), else: (that))
```

which we have explored in the previous section.

Parentheses are important to support multiple expressions. This:

```elixir
if true do
  this
  that
end
```

is the same as:

```elixir
if(true, do: (
  this
  that
))
```

Inside `do`-`end` blocks you may introduce other keywords, such as `else` used in the `if` above. The supported keywords between `do`-`end` are static and are:

  * `after`
  * `catch`
  * `else`
  * `rescue`

You can see them being used in constructs such as `receive`, `try`, and others.