Take_or_default

At times, it is necessary to ensure that an array contains an exact number of entries at all times, even if the data for this does not exist in the payload. Using take_or_default allows a user to define the exact length of an array, and the default value that should be appended to the array for each item that is missing.

Syntax

array take_or_default(array $array, integer $count, any $default)

Appends $default values to an $array where necessary to ensure that the array length is equal to $count.

Parameters

$array: The input array.
$count: The exact length that the output array should be.
$default: The default value that should be added to the array for each item that is missing.

Example

{
    "AvailableUsers": [
        "Todd",
        "Bob",
        "Steve"
    ]
}

{
    listOfUsers: take_or_default(AvailableUsers, '6', 'Unconfirmed User')
}

{
    "listOfUsers": [
        "Todd",
        "Bob",
        "Steve",
        "Unconfirmed User",
        "Unconfirmed User",
        "Unconfirmed User"
    ]
}

In this example the input $array contains only 3 items but the transformation defines that the listOfUsers array in the result should have a length of 6 so 3 additional “Unconfirmed User” entries are appended to the original array.

Notes

The resulting array will ALWAYS have a length equal to $count. So if the input $array is already equal to or greater than the $count defined in the transformation then the resulting array will be truncated appropriately.

For example, if the transformation above was altered to have a count of 2 then the resulting array would show only the first two entries of the input $array and no default values would be appended.

{
    listOfUsers: take_or_default(AvailableUsers, '2', 'Unconfirmed User')
}

{
    "listOfUsers": [
        "Todd",
        "Bob"
    ]
}