DICTS

In HookScript, dicts are a dynamic container type that allow you to store multiple values as key-value pairs. To create a dict, you place your comma separated key-value pairs between curly brackets { key: value, key: value, key: value }:

var x dict = { name: "pj", age: 7}
print(len(x)) // returns 2

When your key contains spaces, you place the key in quotes:

var x = { "is a cool cat": true }
x["is a cool cat"] // returns true

Retrieving Values by key

To retrieve a value from a dict, use square brackets with the key name (e.g., x["name"]). A null value is returned if the key is not in the dictionary.

x["name"] // returns "pj"

Assigning Values by key

To assign a value to a dict, use square brackets with the key name in quotes (e.g., x["name"]). If the key does not already exist in the dictionary it will be created.

x["name"] = "cleo"

Check if dict contains a key

To check if a dict contains a key, use the in operator which will return true or false.

var myDict = { name: "PJ", age: 7 }
"name" in myDict // returns true

Dict Types

Dicts can hold any type, including other dicts. You can specify that certain keys must exist in the dictionary and that they must have a specific type.

To assign a type to a dict, place the type between < and > characters:

var x dict<name> // the assigned dict must have a key called `name`, which accepts any value
var x dict<name text> // the assigned dict must have a key called `name` and its type must be `text`
var x dict<name text, age?> // the assigned dict has an optional key called `age`, which accepts any value
var x dict<name text, age? int> // the assigned dict has an optional key called `age` and its type must be `int`

When your dict contains other dicts, you use multiple indexes to retrieve and assign values:

var x = { cat: { name: "pj" } }
x["cat"]["name"] // "pj""