iterationwith

Iterationwith is a programming concept and, in some software libraries, a formal construct that combines iterating over a collection with a managed context that evolves as the loop proceeds. It is described as a pattern for coupling element processing with state or resource management, so that each iteration can influence the evolving context used in subsequent steps.

The core idea behind iterationwith is to thread a contextual object through a loop alongside the data being processed. The context may encapsulate resources such as files or connections, computed state, or metadata gathered during iteration. Each step updates the context in a controlled way, and the updated context is then available for the next iteration. This approach can help centralize setup and teardown of resources and make stateful pipelines easier to reason about, especially when multiple operations depend on shared, evolving state.

In practical terms, iterationwith is implemented as a loop construct or a small library API that returns items together with the current context. Common use cases include streaming data processing, incremental computations, and scenarios where a running summary or configuration must be maintained across items. The pattern emphasizes deterministic resource management, clear ownership of the context, and composability with other functional or reactive patterns.

Examples are typically provided in pseudocode to illustrate the flow:

iterationwith(data, initial_context) -> yields (item, context)

context = initial_context

for item in data:

context = update_context(context, item)

yield item, context

Limitations include potential complexity in understanding stateful flows and the need for careful handling of resource lifetimes. See also: iteration, context management, resource handling, streaming.