using rules to look up values

Question

I have a lookup table with about 30 rows. Column 1 has the value I want to search for and column 2 has the value I want returned. It seemed like I should be able to use rules to do this, but clearly I don't know what I'm doing. Oh, the values are all strings

I tried:

rule2 :> (#[[1]] -> #[[2]]) & /@ elrALobMap;

This didn't work. First, should I be doing this a different way? (I see that I can do it with Position and Pick, but that seemed awkward. Second, I'd appreciate any help in understanding how (if it's possible) what I did code should be coded.

Please provide a few short sample lines of your table. – Yves Klett Oct 31 '13 at 16:00 — Yves Klett, Oct 31 '13 at 16:00

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 31 '13 at 16:10

3

elrALobMap = Transpose@{ToString /@ Range@30, ToString /@ Reverse@Range@30}
rules = Dispatch[RuleDelayed @@@ elrALobMap]
"1" /. rules
(*
30
*)

answered Oct 31 '13 at 16:10

Dr. belisarius

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Works great! Thanks. – Mitchell Kaplan Oct 31 '13 at 16:40

using rules to look up values

1 Answers1