Reduce is a powerful way to process a collection of data into a new form. ## yq vs jq syntax Reduce syntax in `yq` is a little different from `jq` - as `yq` (currently) isn't as sophisticated as `jq` and its only supports infix notation (e.g. a + b, the operator is in the middle of the two parameters) - where as `jq` uses a mix of infix notation with _prefix_ notation (e.g. `reduce a b` is like writing `+ a b`). To that end, the reduce operator is called `ireduce` for backwards compatability if a prefix version of `reduce` is ever added. ## Sum numbers Given a sample.yml file of: ```yaml - 10 - 2 - 5 - 3 ``` then ```bash yq eval '.[] as $item ireduce (0; . + $item)' sample.yml ``` will output ```yaml 20 ``` ## Convert an array to an object Given a sample.yml file of: ```yaml - name: Cathy has: apples - name: Bob has: bananas ``` then ```bash yq eval '.[] as $item ireduce ({}; .[$item | .name] = ($item | .has) )' sample.yml ``` will output ```yaml Cathy: apples Bob: bananas ```