Editing Module:Buffer/doc (section)

====Buffer:_out====
{{luaself|:_out|args=sep|args2=ops, sep{{ndash}}list, { default{{ndash}}sep, ..., [#] = sep }|args3=0, sep}}

[[#Buffer object|Joins a Buffer]] with {{code|sep}} and appends result to its parent, which is returned. If no parent is found, this is a no-op and returns the same Buffer.

When given two or more arguments, this reads the first as {{code|ops}}{{--}}the number of :_out() operations to perform.<ref group="note">The first arg is not type checked but read as ''ops'' only when multiple args are present (or if it is the number 0); i.e., <code>Buffer:_out(2)</code> uses <code>2</code> as a separator. To append to the ''N''th ancestor with no separator, use <code>Buffer:_outs(''N'', nil)</code>.</ref> This applies the first ''sep'' in {{code|sep-list}} for the current Buffer, the second for its parent, the third for its grandparent, and so on.

If the last item is a {{luaref|table||y}}, then any ''nil'' in ''sep-list'' default to <code>''table''[1]</code>; any ''false'' mean "no-sep".<ref group="note">Empty strings would produce the same output as false, however, Lua string literals create objects that take up memory until garbage collected.</ref> The table may be the second arg (i.e. ''sep-list'' may be omitted). If it has other keys, then ''table[n]'' would apply instead of ''table[1]'', making these synonymous:<br />
{{luaself|:_out|args=4, nil, nil, nil, ' and ', {', '} }} and {{luaself|:_out|args=4, {', ', [4] = ' and '} }}.

The number {{code|lang=lua|0}} is "magic" when passed as the first arg (even by itself), joining and appending to the same Buffer ''after'' it has been {{luaself|Buffer|:_cc|emptied|y}}. This is the only method by which a Buffer in [[#raw|raw mode]] may lose that status. Parent references are preserved.