difference

Type

command

Summary

Removes elements from an array which have a corresponding element in another array, and leaves all others alone.

Syntax

difference <targetArray> with <templateArray> [into <destinationArray>]

Description

Use the difference command to filter out elements from an array according to the contents of another array.

Each key of targetArray is checked to see whether there is a matching key in templateArray. The elements of targetArray that match an element of the templateArray are removed from targetArray.

The content of individual elements of the templateArray does not affect the final result. Only which elements exist in the templateArray, not their content, controls which elements of targetArray are retained and which are removed.

If the into clause is used the operation of the commands is the same as the non-into form except that targetArray does not have to be a variable, and the result of the operation is placed into destinationArray rather than mutating targetArray.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
targetArray	array	The value to modify.
templateArray	array	The array to difference targetArray with.
destinationArray	array	A variable to set as the destination instead of mutating targetArray

Examples

local tLeft, tRight
put "green" into tLeft["color"]
put "left" into tLeft["align"]

put "blue" into tRight["color"]
put "100" into tRight["width"]

difference tLeft with tRight

# RESULT
# the keys of tLeft = "align"
# tRight unchanged

Related

command: split, union, intersect, symmetric difference

glossary: element, array, command, key

keyword: element

Compatibility and Support

Introduced

LiveCode 9.0

OS

mac

windows

linux

ios

android

Platforms

desktop

server

mobile