table.move()

The table.move() function moves a specified range of elements from one table to another, allowing you to reposition elements within the same table or transfer them to a different table.

Syntax

table.move(source, sourcePos, targetPos, targetEnd, target)

Parameters

Name
source
Type
table
Description
The table from which elements will be moved.
Name
sourcePos
Type
number
Description
The starting position in the source table from which to move elements.
Name
targetPos
Type
number
Description
The position in the target table where the elements will be moved to.
Name
targetEnd
Type
number
Description
The ending position in the source table. This indicates how many elements to move.
Name
target
Type
table|nil
Description
Optional. The target table to which elements will be moved. If omitted, the source table will be used.

Return

The function returns the target table containing the moved elements.

The table.move() function is useful for rearranging elements within a table or transferring elements to a different table. It allows for specified ranges and can be used to efficiently manipulate tables.

Examples

Moving elements within the same table

local numbers = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
table.move(numbers, 2, 4, 1, numbers)  -- Moves elements from index 2 to 4 to the start
print(table.concat(numbers, ", "))  
-- Output: 2, 3, 4, 1, 5

Moving elements to a different table

local source = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
local target = {}
table.move(source, 2, 4, 1, target)  -- Moves elements from index 2 to 4 of source to target
print(table.concat(target, ", "))  
-- Output: 2, 3, 4

Overlapping move within the same table

local letters = {"A", "B", "C", "D", "E"}
table.move(letters, 2, 4, 3, letters)  -- Moves B, C, D to positions 3, 4, 5
print(table.concat(letters, ", "))  
-- Output: A, B, B, C, D