nushell/crates/nu-std/std
Ian Manske 4d3283e235
Change append operator to concatenation operator (#14344)
# Description

The "append" operator currently serves as both the append operator and
the concatenation operator. This dual role creates ambiguity when
operating on nested lists.

```nu
[1 2] ++ 3     # appends a value to a list [1 2 3]
[1 2] ++ [3 4] # concatenates two lists    [1 2 3 4]

[[1 2] [3 4]] ++ [5 6]
# does this give [[1 2] [3 4] [5 6]]
# or             [[1 2] [3 4] 5 6]  
```

Another problem is that `++=` can change the type of a variable:
```nu
mut str = 'hello '
$str ++= ['world']
($str | describe) == list<string>
```

Note that appending is only relevant for lists, but concatenation is
relevant for lists, strings, and binary values. Additionally, appending
can be expressed in terms of concatenation (see example below). So, this
PR changes the `++` operator to only perform concatenation.

# User-Facing Changes

Using the `++` operator with a list and a non-list value will now be a
compile time or runtime error.
```nu
mut list = []
$list ++= 1 # error
```
Instead, concatenate a list with one element:
```nu
$list ++= [1]
```
Or use `append`:
```nu
$list = $list | append 1
```

# After Submitting

Update book and docs.

---------

Co-authored-by: Douglas <32344964+NotTheDr01ds@users.noreply.github.com>
2024-11-24 10:59:54 -08:00
..
assert Virtual std module subdirectories (#14040) 2024-10-10 06:56:37 -05:00
bench Virtual std module subdirectories (#14040) 2024-10-10 06:56:37 -05:00
config Always load default env/config values (#14249) 2024-11-20 16:15:15 -06:00
core Respect use_ansi_coloring setting in banner (#14049) 2024-10-10 09:58:37 -05:00
dirs Fix small typos in std/dirs (#14422) 2024-11-23 16:04:27 -06:00
dt Virtual std module subdirectories (#14040) 2024-10-10 06:56:37 -05:00
formats Virtual std module subdirectories (#14040) 2024-10-10 06:56:37 -05:00
help Change append operator to concatenation operator (#14344) 2024-11-24 10:59:54 -08:00
input Virtual std module subdirectories (#14040) 2024-10-10 06:56:37 -05:00
iter Virtual std module subdirectories (#14040) 2024-10-10 06:56:37 -05:00
log Virtual std module subdirectories (#14040) 2024-10-10 06:56:37 -05:00
math Virtual std module subdirectories (#14040) 2024-10-10 06:56:37 -05:00
util Virtual std module subdirectories (#14040) 2024-10-10 06:56:37 -05:00
xml Virtual std module subdirectories (#14040) 2024-10-10 06:56:37 -05:00
mod.nu Always load default env/config values (#14249) 2024-11-20 16:15:15 -06:00