Key
Key[key][assoc]
extracts the value corresponding to key in the association assoc.
Details
- Key is used in functions such as Part to access values in Association objects or columns in Tabular objects.
- Key can normally be omitted when key is a string.
Examples
open allclose allBasic Examples (2)
Extract a value from an association as a part:
Extract a value from an association by function application:
Extract a column from a Tabular object:
Scope (6)
The Key wrapper is not necessary when the key is a string:
Lookups in associations interoperate with parts in lists and other expressions:
The explicit Key can be omitted when the keys in an association are strings:
Key is normally generated by functions such as Position:
Use Extract to extract the values:
For expressions at deeper levels, the positions can be combinations of integers and Key objects:
Use Key to disambiguate between an integer index and an integer key:
assoc[[Key[key]]] is equivalent to assoc[key], including integer keys:
Take a Tabular object with several columns:
Columns with non-string keys require the explicit use of Key for Part extraction:
String keys can be used with or without a Key wrapper:
Repeated keys are treated as one, even if they are wrapped with Key:
Take a Dataset object with several rows:
Use Part to extract a row with a string key:
Alternatively, use ds[key], which is equivalent to Query[key][ds]:
For non-string keys, extraction requires wrapping them with Key:
Otherwise, Query will interpret the key as a function to be used on the row:
Applications (1)
Properties & Relations (2)
Key always takes one argument:
ExtendedKey can take more than one argument:
Both keys can then be used to address their values:
Take a Tabular object with a key column:
Key wrappers can be used to extract tabular rows and columns:
Row extraction can also be performed with RowKey:
Text
Wolfram Research (2014), Key, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Key.html (updated 2025).
CMS
Wolfram Language. 2014. "Key." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2025. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Key.html.
APA
Wolfram Language. (2014). Key. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Key.html