blog: any variables

docs/blog/2024-03-10-variables.mdx

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+---
+title: Any Variables
+description: Task is no longer limited to strings!
+slug: any-variables
+authors: [pd93]
+tags: [experiments, variables]
+image: https://i.imgur.com/mErPwqL.png
+hide_table_of_contents: false
+draft: true
+---
+
+import Tabs from '@theme/Tabs';
+import TabItem from '@theme/TabItem';
+
+Task has always had variables, but even though you were able to define them
+using different YAML types, they would always be converted to strings by Task.
+This limited users to string manipulation and encouraged messy workarounds for
+simple problems. Starting from [v3.36.0][v3.36.0], this is no longer the case!
+Task now supports most variable types, including **booleans**, **integers**,
+**floats** and **arrays**!
+
+<!--truncate-->
+
+## What's the big deal?
+
+These changes allow you to use variables in a much more natural way and opens up
+a wide variety of sprig functions that were previously useless. Take a look at
+some of the examples below for some inspiration.
+
+### Evaluating booleans
+
+No more comparing strings to "true" or "false". Now you can use actual boolean
+values in your templates:
+
+<Tabs defaultValue="2"
+  values={[
+    {label: 'Before', value: '1'},
+    {label: 'After', value: '2'}
+  ]}>
+
+<TabItem value="1">
+
+```yaml
+version: 3
+
+tasks:
+  foo:
+    vars:
+      BOOL: true # <-- Parsed as a string even though its a YAML boolean
+    cmds:
+      - '{{if eq .BOOL "true"}}echo foo{{end}}'
+```
+
+</TabItem>
+<TabItem value="2">
+
+```yaml
+version: 3
+
+tasks:
+  foo:
+    vars:
+      BOOL: true # <-- Parsed as a boolean
+    cmds:
+      - '{{if .BOOL}}echo foo{{end}}' # <-- No need to compare to "true"
+```
+
+</TabItem></Tabs>
+
+### Arithmetic
+
+You can now perform basic arithmetic operations on integer and float variables:
+
+```yaml
+version: 3
+
+tasks:
+  foo:
+    vars:
+      INT: 10
+      FLOAT: 3.14159
+    cmds:
+      - 'echo {{add .INT .FLOAT}}'
+```
+
+You can use any of the following arithmetic functions: `add`, `sub`, `mul`,
+`div`, `mod`, `max`, `min`, `floor`, `ceil`, `round` and `randInt`. Check out
+the [slim-sprig math documentation][slim-sprig-math] for more information.
+
+### Arrays
+
+You can now range over arrays inside templates and use list-based functions:
+
+```yaml
+version: 3
+
+tasks:
+  foo:
+    vars:
+      ARRAY: [1, 2, 3]
+    cmds:
+      - 'echo {{range .ARRAY}}{{.}}{{end}}'
+```
+
+You can use any of the following list-based functions: `first`, `rest`, `last`,
+`initial`, `append`, `prepend`, `concat`, `reverse`, `uniq`, `without`, `has`,
+`compact`, `slice` and `chunk`. Check out the [slim-sprg lists
+documentation][slim-sprig-list] for more information.
+
+### Looping over variables using `for`
+
+Previously, you would have to use a delimiter separated string to loop over an
+arbitrary list of items in a variable and split them by using the `split` subkey
+to specify the delimiter. However, we have now added support for looping over
+"collection-type" variables using the `for` keyword, so now you are able to loop
+over list variables directly:
+
+<Tabs defaultValue="2"
+  values={[
+    {label: 'Before', value: '1'},
+    {label: 'After', value: '2'}
+  ]}>
+
+<TabItem value="1">
+
+```yaml
+version: 3
+
+tasks:
+  foo:
+    vars:
+      LIST: 'foo,bar,baz'
+    cmds:
+      - for:
+          var: LIST
+          split: ','
+        cmd: echo {{.ITEM}}
+```
+
+</TabItem>
+<TabItem value="2">
+
+```yaml
+version: 3
+
+tasks:
+  foo:
+    vars:
+      LIST: ['foo', 'bar', 'baz']
+    cmds:
+      - for:
+          var: LIST
+        cmd: echo {{.ITEM}}
+```
+
+</TabItem></Tabs>
+
+## What about maps?
+
+Maps were originally included in the Any Variables experiment. However, they
+weren't quite ready yet. Instead of making you wait for everything to be ready
+at once, we have released support for all other variable types and we will
+continue working on map support in the new "[Map Variables][map-variables]"
+experiment.
+
+:::note
+
+If you were previously using maps with the Any Variables experiment and wish to
+continue using them, you will need to enable the new [Map Variables
+experiment][map-variables] instead.
+
+:::
+
+We're looking for feedback on a couple of different proposals, so please give
+them a go and let us know what you think. :pray:
+
+<!-- prettier-ignore-start -->
+[v3.36.0]: https://github.com/go-task/task/releases/tag/v3.36.0
+[slim-sprig-math]: https://go-task.github.io/slim-sprig/math.html
+[slim-sprig-list]: https://go-task.github.io/slim-sprig/lists.html
+[map-variables]: /experiments/map-variables
+<!-- prettier-ignore-end -->