What are the data types in Elm?
In programming, data types refer to the different kinds of values supported by a particular programming language.
Like other programming languages, Elm also has a defined set of data types.
Numeric data types in Elm
The numeric data type represents numeric values in Elm.
Numeric data types in Elm
Type | Function | Example |
Number | Stores numbers | 5 |
Float | Stores fractional values | The result of 5/2 i.e., 2.5 |
Integer | Stores non-fractional values | The result of 5//2 i.e., 2 |
String and Char data types in Elm
The String data type in Elm represents a sequence of characters. They are defined within double quotes ".
Meanwhile, the Char data type represents a single character. They are enclosed within single quotes '.
Example
Let’s consider the word educative. We can represent the whole word containing nine characters with the String data type. Meanwhile, we can singly represent each of those nine characters with the Char data type.
String and Char data types in Elm
Type | Function | example |
String | Stores multiple characters | "educative" |
Char | Stores single characters | 'e' |
Bool data type in Elm
The Bool data type in Elm supports the use of the values True and False. Boolean values are represented by the keyword Bool.
Bool data type in Elm
Type | Function | Example |
Bool | Stores the values True or False | 1 == 2 returns False |
Structured data types
The Structured data type in Elm represents multiple or a collection of values in a structured format. The values can either be homogenous or heterogeneous.
Elm supports a variety of structured data types. They are:
- Tuple
- List
- Record
Structured data types in Elm
Type | Function | Example |
Tuple | Stores values of different types | ("educative", 5, True, "good") |
List | Stores multiple values of the same type | myList1 = [10, 20, 30] |
Record | Stores key-value pairs | {name="educative", rating=10} |
