# Return multiple values not in a tuple?
**URL:** https://discourse.julialang.org/t/return-multiple-values-not-in-a-tuple/45234
**Category:** General Usage
**Created:** [August 20, 2020, 12:03am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/return-multiple-values-not-in-a-tuple/45234 "2020-08-20T00:03:32Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Gus\_Hart](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Gus_Hart)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2020, 12:03am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/return-multiple-values-not-in-a-tuple/45234/1 "2020-08-20T00:03:32Z")
I have a function that takes several arguments. I have another function that returns several values. I’d like the second function to be able to directly feed the first. But my attempt doesn’t work because multiple return values get bundled together in a tuple and my first function doesn’t expect a tuple. (And I don’t want it to, because in most contexts it won’t be eating the direct output of another function.)
Here’s a toy example
```julia
function test1(x,y,z)
return x+y+z
end
function test2()
return 1,2,3
end
julia> test1(test2())
ERROR: MethodError: no method matching test1(::Tuple{Int64,Int64,Int64})
Closest candidates are:
test1(::Any, ::Any, ::Any) at REPL[15]:1
Stacktrace:
[1] top-level scope at REPL[20]:1
```
Anyone have pointers on how to do this in an acceptly Julian way?
---
### Author:  [@Oscar\_Smith](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Oscar_Smith)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/return-multiple-values-not-in-a-tuple/45234/2 "2020-08-20T00:05:45Z")
Try `test1(test2()...)`. The `...` “splats” a collection, which is what you want to accomplish.
---
### Author:  [@Gus\_Hart](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Gus_Hart)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2020, 1:11am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/return-multiple-values-not-in-a-tuple/45234/3 "2020-08-20T01:11:47Z")
Oh yeah, I forgot about the splat operator. I’m still a beginner, I guess.
---
### Author:  [@CameronBieganek](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/CameronBieganek)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2020, 3:51am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/return-multiple-values-not-in-a-tuple/45234/4 "2020-08-20T03:51:59Z")
I know you said you don’t want to add a method to `test1` that accepts a tuple, but this can be done in a neat way using [argument destructuring](https://docs.julialang.org/en/v1/manual/functions/#Argument-destructuring-1):
```julia
test1(x, y, z) = x + y + z
test1((x, y, z)) = test1(x, y, z)
test2() = 1, 2, 3
```
```julia
julia> test1(test2())
6
```
---
### Author:  [@dpsanders](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/dpsanders)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2020, 4:36am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/return-multiple-values-not-in-a-tuple/45234/5 "2020-08-20T04:36:03Z")
Or `test1(x) = test1(x...)`
(But I never understand when or whether the splatting has a performance penalty.)
---
### Author:  [@CameronBieganek](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/CameronBieganek)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2020, 3:41pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/return-multiple-values-not-in-a-tuple/45234/6 "2020-08-20T15:41:34Z")
> [@dpsanders](#):
>
> test1(x) = test1(x…)
Yeah, that has the advantage (or disadvantage, depending on the desired API) that it will throw a method error if you provide a tuple that is too long.
```julia
foo(x, y) = x + y
foo((x, y)) = foo(x, y)
bar(x, y) = x + y
bar(x) = bar(x...)
```
```julia
julia> foo((1, 2, 3))
3
julia> bar((1, 2, 3))
ERROR: MethodError: no method matching bar(::Int64, ::Int64, ::Int64)
```
---
### Author:  [@Gus\_Hart](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Gus_Hart)
#### Post date: [August 25, 2020, 11:02pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/return-multiple-values-not-in-a-tuple/45234/7 "2020-08-25T23:02:57Z")
Oh yeah. That’s a good solution too.
---
### Author:  [@Elrod](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Elrod)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2020, 4:13am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/return-multiple-values-not-in-a-tuple/45234/8 "2020-08-26T04:13:26Z")
> [@CameronBieganek](#):
>
> Yeah, that has the advantage (or disadvantage, depending on the desired API) that it will throw a method error if you provide a tuple that is too long.
This is relatively verbose, but if you prefer the argument destructuring approach:
```julia
julia> buz((x, y)::Tuple{Vararg{Any,2}}) = buz(x, y)
buz (generic function with 2 methods)
julia> buz((1, 2.0))
3.0
julia> buz((1, 2.0, 3))
ERROR: MethodError: no method matching buz(::Tuple{Int64,Float64,Int64})
```