containergetEllike

containergetEllike is a term used in programming to describe a generic retrieval operation that extracts the first element from a container that satisfies a given Ellike predicate. The concept is intended to be language- and container-agnostic, serving as a pattern rather than a specific implementation.

Ellike, in this context, refers to a predicate or type guard that defines what it means for a value to be E-like. The predicate specifies the structural or behavioral criteria that elements must meet to be considered Ellike. This allows containergetEllike to operate on diverse data types by abstracting the checking logic into a reusable condition.

In typical use, containergetEllike is parameterized by a container and a predicate. The function searches the container from left to right and returns the first element that satisfies the Ellike condition. Depending on the language, the return value is commonly an optional or Maybe type (representing “value present” or “no value”), or it may throw an exception in non-nullable contexts. Some designs also provide an all-matches variant that returns all Ellike elements rather than the first.

Example (pseudocode):

result = containergetEllike([1, "a", obj], isEllike)

where isEllike checks the Ellike condition. If a matching element exists, result contains it; otherwise result indicates absence.

The concept aligns with broader patterns such as find, filter, and optional handling found in many programming ecosystems. It emphasizes safe, explicit retrieval from containers based on a defined eligibility criterion.

See also: Maybe/Optional types, find or first, predicate-based filtering, type guards.