Summary: Tuples in Brief

Tuples are:

• Fixed-size collections of elements
• Written with #(...) in LFE
• Often tagged with an atom in the first position
• Immutable (like everything else in LFE)
• Excellent for pattern matching
• Compared element-by-element
• Stored efficiently in contiguous memory
• The go-to choice for fixed-size data structures

They are not:

• Variable-size (that’s what lists are for)
• Mutable (did we mention immutability yet?)
• Named (that would be records, which are basically tuples in a fancy hat)
• Particularly good at explaining themselves without tags

And there you have it: tuples in all their curly-braced glory. Use them wisely, use them well, and for goodness’ sake, remember to tag them properly. Your future self will thank you, probably while muttering about how past-you was surprisingly competent for once.

Now then, shall we move on to lists? They’re like tuples, except completely different and infinitely more recursive.