In ColdFusion, an iterator is an object, which defines a sequence and a return value upon its termination. The iterator protocol defines a standard way to produce a sequence of values (either finite or infinite), and potentially a return value when all values have been generated.
ColdFusion Components can be made iterable and UDF's are used as iterators.
How to make a cfc iterable ?
If the CFC implements __iter__ function with no arguments it will be called to get the iterator instance. The iterable function can return array, String, query, function (like below) or a cfc which has a function named __next()__.
CFC as an iterator
// Iterator.cfc component { public any function __next__(previous, count){ // Follows Iteration Protocol as UDF return {value: count+1, done: count > 11}; } }
# cfcAsIterator.cfc component { public any function __iter__() { return new Iterator(); } }
// stringAsIterator.cfc component{ public any function __iter__() { str1="ColdFusion 2021"; str2="Project Stratus"; return [...str1,...str2]; } }
// udfAsIterator.cfc //Example using UDF as Iterator and CFC is the Iterable component { public any function __iter__() { var startFrom = 100; return function(previous, index){//Iterator UDF return {"value": startFrom + index, "done": index > 9}; } } }
// udfAsIterator.cfm <cfscript> /* Plain UDF/Closure/Lambda as Iterator Invoking iterators using forin loop */ iterator = (previous, count) =>{ return {"value": count + 2, "done": count > 9}; }; writeoutput("----------- UDF/Closure/Lambda as Iterator -------------<hr>") for(i in iterator) { writeoutput(i & " " & "<br>"); } udfIteratorOBj = new udfAsIterator(); stringIteratorObj= new stringAsIterator(); cfcIteratorObj = new cfcAsIterator(); writeoutput("<br>----------- UDF as Iterator -------------<hr>") for(i in udfIteratorOBj) { writeoutput(SerializeJson(i) & "<br>"); } writeoutput("<br>----------- String as Iterator -------------<hr>") for(i in stringIteratorObj) { writeoutput(SerializeJson(i) & "<br>"); } writeoutput("<br>----------- CFC as Iterator -------------<hr>") for(i in cfcIteratorObj ) { writeoutput(SerializeJson(i) & "<br>"); } </cfscript>
Output
----------- UDF/Closure/Lambda as Iterator -------------
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
----------- UDF as Iterator -------------
101.0102.0103.0104.0105.0106.0107.0108.0109.0110.0
----------- String as Iterator -------------
"C""o""l""d""F""u""s""i""o""n"" ""2""0""2""1""P""r""o""j""e""c""t"" ""S""t""r""a""t""u""s"
----------- CFC as Iterator -------------
2.03.04.05.06.07.08.09.010.011.012.013.0
Array as iterator
// arrayAsIteratorwithSpread.cfc component{ public any function __iter__() { arr1=[1,2,3] arr2=[4,5,6] return [...arr1,...arr2]; } function demofunc(){ return "demostring!" } }
// arrayAsIterator.cfm <cfscript> arrayIteratorObj1= new arrayAsIteratorwithSpread(); writeoutput("<br>----------- Array as Iterator 1-------------<hr>") for(i in arrayIteratorObj1 ) { writeoutput(i & "<br>"); } </cfscript>