flatten
Flatten or squash a list of lists into a simpler vector
Description
flatten() removes one level hierarchy from a list, while
squash() removes all levels. These functions are similar to
unlist() but they are type-stable so you always know what the
type of the output is.
Usage
flatten(x) flatten_lgl(x) flatten_int(x) flatten_dbl(x) flatten_cpl(x) flatten_chr(x) flatten_raw(x) squash(x) squash_lgl(x) squash_int(x) squash_dbl(x) squash_cpl(x) squash_chr(x) squash_raw(x) flatten_if(x, predicate = is_spliced) squash_if(x, predicate = is_spliced)
Arguments
x |
A list to flatten or squash. The contents of the list can
be anything for unsuffixed functions |
predicate |
A function of one argument returning whether it should be spliced. |
Value
flatten() returns a list, flatten_lgl() a logical
vector, flatten_int() an integer vector, flatten_dbl() a
double vector, and flatten_chr() a character vector. Similarly
for squash() and the typed variants (squash_lgl() etc).
Life cycle
These functions are in the questioning stage. They have slightly different semantics than the flattening functions in purrr and we are currently rethinking our approach to flattening with the new typing facilities of the vctrs package.
Examples
x <- replicate(2, sample(4), simplify = FALSE)
x
flatten(x)
flatten_int(x)
# With flatten(), only one level gets removed at a time:
deep <- list(1, list(2, list(3)))
flatten(deep)
flatten(flatten(deep))
# But squash() removes all levels:
squash(deep)
squash_dbl(deep)
# The typed flatten functions remove one level and coerce to an atomic
# vector at the same time:
flatten_dbl(list(1, list(2)))
# Only bare lists are flattened, but you can splice S3 lists
# explicitly:
foo <- set_attrs(list("bar"), class = "foo")
str(flatten(list(1, foo, list(100))))
str(flatten(list(1, splice(foo), list(100))))
# Instead of splicing manually, flatten_if() and squash_if() let
# you specify a predicate function:
is_foo <- function(x) inherits(x, "foo") || is_bare_list(x)
str(flatten_if(list(1, foo, list(100)), is_foo))
# squash_if() does the same with deep lists:
deep_foo <- list(1, list(foo, list(foo, 100)))
str(deep_foo)
str(squash(deep_foo))
str(squash_if(deep_foo, is_foo))