Pairs
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pairs( tbl )
- Returns an iterator of key-value pairs for all elements in a table, for use with
for...in
.
- tbl
-
- The table.
The pairs()
iterator function is used exclusively with for...in
to iterate over all elements in a table. It emits the key and value together, which you can assign to variables in the for
loop:
for k, v in pairs(tbl) do
-- ...
end
This iterator produces every value in the table, not just those with sequential indices. It can produce keys and values for tables being used as mappings (dictionaries) or objects.
Be warned that results are not produced in any guaranteed order. Some small tables may seem to iterate in order, but that is purely coincidental behavior which should not be relied upon.
Examples
t = {111, 222, 333}
for k, v in pairs(t) do
print(k..': '..v)
end
-- 1: 111
-- 2: 222
-- 3: 333
t = {n=42, x=100, y=200}
for k, v in pairs(t) do
print(k..': '..v)
end
-- x: 100
-- y: 200
-- n: 42