List.to_existing_atom

You're seeing just the function to_existing_atom, go back to List module for more information.
Link to this function

to_existing_atom(charlist)

View Source

Specs

to_existing_atom(charlist()) :: atom()

Converts a charlist to an existing atom. Raises an ArgumentError if the atom does not exist.

Elixir supports conversions from charlists which contains any Unicode code point.

Inlined by the compiler.

Examples

iex> _ = :my_atom
iex> List.to_existing_atom('my_atom')
:my_atom

iex> _ = :"🌢 Elixir"
iex> List.to_existing_atom('🌢 Elixir')
:"🌢 Elixir"