Merge two lists of dicts by a shared key field

The first list is the base; the second provides updates applied on top, matched by key_field. Both inputs are left unmodified.

Usage

pmo_merge_dicts_by_key(
  main_list,
  update_list,
  key_field,
  replace = FALSE,
  ignore_fields = NULL
)

Arguments

main_list

The base list of named lists (source of truth).

update_list

The list of named lists whose values are merged in.

key_field

The field used to match records across the two lists.

replace

If TRUE, update values overwrite existing fields; if FALSE a conflicting field raises an error.

ignore_fields

Optional field names never copied from update_list.

Value

A new list of merged named lists, in main_list order.

Examples

main <- list(list(name = "a", x = 1), list(name = "b", x = 2))
upd <- list(list(name = "a", y = 10))
pmo_merge_dicts_by_key(main, upd, "name")
#> Warning: The following 'name' values are in main_list but not in update_list (skipping): b
#> [[1]]
#> [[1]]$name
#> [1] "a"
#> 
#> [[1]]$x
#> [1] 1
#> 
#> [[1]]$y
#> [1] 10
#> 
#> 
#> [[2]]
#> [[2]]$name
#> [1] "b"
#> 
#> [[2]]$x
#> [1] 2
#> 
#>