valuesfn

valuesfn is a term used in programming to denote a function that retrieves the collection of values stored in a data structure or produced by a value-producing process. The exact meaning varies by context, but it commonly refers to a function that, given a container such as a map, dictionary, record, or object, returns the sequence of its values, omitting the keys.

Typical characteristics include that valuesfn is usually a pure function and returns a collection such as a list, array, iterator, or generator. The order of the returned values may depend on the container’s iteration order and can be undefined for some map-like structures, while it may be stable for others. In some implementations the function can be lazy, yielding values on demand rather than materializing the entire collection at once.

Variants and related concepts include keysfn, which returns the keys of a container, and entriesfn, which returns key-value pairs. valuesfn is related to general collection utilities like map, filter, and reduce, and is often used when the goal is to process or analyze just the values without regard to their keys.

Examples of usage are common in pseudocode and language libraries: valuesfn({ "a": 1, "b": 2 }) might yield [1, 2]. In lazy or streaming contexts, valuesfn can return a sequence that is computed on demand. Language-specific equivalents exist in many ecosystems, such as built-in value-extraction functions for maps or dictionaries and their counterparts for other keyed data structures.

See also: keysfn, entriesfn, map, reduce, collection utilities.