urbit/pub/doc/hoon/runes/kt/kthp.md

kethep, ^-, %kthp

Cast to bunt

^- is a synthetic hoon that casts q to ~(bunt al p), i.e. the icon of p.

See also

ketlus, ^+, %ktls

Produces

Twig: [%kthp p=tile q=twig]

Sample

p is a tile. q is a twig.

Tall form

^-  p
    q

Wide form

^-(p q)

Irregular form

`p`q

Examples

~zod/try=> (add 90 7)
97
~zod/try=> `@t`(add 90 7)
'a'
~zod/try=> ^-(@t (add 90 7))
'a'

Here we see a straightforward use of ^- in both irregular and wide form, simply casting an atom to a char. 97 is the ASCII code for 'a'.

/~zod/try=> =cor  |=  a=@
      ^-  (unit ,@ta)
      [~ u=a]
new var %cor
/~zod/try=> (cor 97)
[~ ~.a]

In this case we see a very common use of ^-, at the top of a gate. This pattern is considered good hoon style for two reasons: it gives the reader a clear pattern for understanding what your code produces, and it helps ensure type-safety.