Purpose

Retrieve and convert a Smartionary and its SmartionaryEntry associations into a Map.

Examples

Map fruitsByLetter = Smartionary.get('fruits')

String aEntry = Smartionary.get('fruits', 'a')

Description

When retrieving a Smartionary the get() method automatically converts it to a Map, providing convenience to the user. However, the return varies depending on that status of the Smartionary and its SmartionaryEntry associations.

When a Smartionary does not exist the equivalient is the same as a Map that has not been instantiated with any data:

Map fruits

When the Smartionary has no SmartionaryEntry associations, it is the same as instantiating an empty Map:

Map fruits = [:]

When the Smartionary has SmartionaryEntry associations, it is the same as instantiating a Map with data:

Map fruits = [
    a: "apple",
    b: "banana",
    c: "cantaloupe",
    d: "durian"
]

In the second form, the desired key is passed, which is the equivalent of attempting to get the value associated with the key of a Map, and behaves the same way.

If the key does not exist, it is null:

Map fruits = [
    a: "apple",
    b: "banana",
    c: "cantaloupe",
    d: "durian"
]
fruits.t

If the key does exist, the value is returned:

Map fruits = [
    a: "apple",
    b: "banana",
    c: "cantaloupe",
    d: "durian"
]
fruits.a