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zip

Pairs values from two lists and returns a list of pairs.

The input parameters can take lists or list-like objects such as table columns or JSON arrays. It pairs values by their index number, so the Index 0 value for LIST 1 is paired with the Index 0 value for LIST 2, and so on.

The output is a list of pairs — that is, a list of lists.

Parameters

  • LIST 1 (list, column, row, or array)

    The first list or list-like object.

  • LIST 2 (list, column, row, or array)

    The second list or list-like object.

Examples

ATL in Script

Resulting List

Printed Result

[[

list1 = makeList('A','B','C')

list2 = makeList(1, 2, 3)

zip(list1, list2)

]]

( (A, 1), (B, 2), (C, 3) )

A and 1, B and 2 and C and 3

When you input lists of unequal length, the function stops at end of the shorter list.

ATL in Script

Resulting List

Printed Result

[[

list1 = makeList('A','B','C')

list2 = makeList(1, 2, 3, 4)

zip(list1, list2)

]]

( (A, 1), (B, 2), (C, 3) )

A and 1, B and 2 and C and 3

Note

There is no warning when you input lists of unequal length.

Using zip with table data

Assume a "Describe the Table" project with this data:

Code

Branch

Manager

Sales

Row 1

1001

Aberdeen

Andrew Gray

198248.36

Row 2

1002

Glasgow

Emma Moore

267321.77

Row 3

1003

Edinburgh

Linda Barclay

182434.58

A column variable is a list-like object and therefore a valid input to the function.

To pair values from the Branch and Sales columns:

ATL in Script

Resulting List

[[zip(Branch, Sales)]]

( (Aberdeen, 198248.36), (Glasgow, 267321.77), (Edinburgh, 182434.58) )

Note

In a "Describe Row in Context" project, the column variables are BranchColumn and SalesColumn.

Here's how you could use the result to produce narrative text:

[[global.results = zip(Branch, Sales);'']]

[[map(results, x -> "[[x[0]]] achieved sales of [[currencyFormat(x[1],'GBP')]]")]]

The output text is:

Aberdeen achieved sales of £198,248.36, Glasgow achieved sales of £267,321.77 and Edinburgh achieved sales of £182,434.58.

Note that you could achieve the same result more effiiciently with the pairwiseMap function:

[[pairwiseMap(Branch, Sales, (x,y) -> "[[x]] achieved sales of [[currencyFormat(y,'GBP')]]")]].

Using zip with JSON data

Assume a "Describe a JSON Object" project with this data:

{
    "yr2021": {
       "Q1": [
                {"product": "Retine", "units": 232, "sales": 2493146.89},
                {"product": "Ointmo", "units": 314, "sales": 3486198.56},
                {"product": "Glower", "units": 174, "sales": 1756934.95}
             ],
        "Q2":[
                {"product": "Retine", "units": 274, "sales": 2788146.22},
                {"product": "Ointmo", "units": 294, "sales": 3027634.12},
                {"product": "Glower", "units": 181, "sales": 1831749.94}
             ]
        }
}

Here's how you could create LIST variables and input them to the zip function:

ATL in Script

Resulting List

[[

Q1array = WholeJSON.yr2021.Q1

productsQ1 = map(Q1array, x -> x.product)

unitsSoldQ1 = map(Q1array, x -> x.units)

Q1results = zip(productsQ1, unitsSoldQ1)

]]

( (Retine, 232), (Ointmo, 314), (Glower, 174) )

Here's how you might use the result to produce narrative text:

[[

Q1array = WholeJSON.yr2021.Q1

productsQ1 = map(Q1array, x -> x.product)

unitsSoldQ1 = map(Q1array, x -> x.units)

Q1results = zip(productsQ1, unitsSoldQ1)

"In Quarter 1, we sold [[map(Q1results, x -> "[[x[1]]] units of [[x[0]]]")]]."

]]

The output text is:

In Quarter 1, we sold 232 units of Retine, 314 units of Ointmo and 174 units of Glower.

Here is a more complex example using the same data: 

[[

products = map(WholeJSON.yr2021.Q1, x -> x.product)

Q1sales = map(WholeJSON.yr2021.Q1, x -> x.sales)

Q2sales = map(WholeJSON.yr2021.Q2, x -> x.sales)

salesResults = zip(Q1sales, Q2sales)

changeValues = map(salesResults, x -> abbreviateNumber(currencyFormat(diff(x[1], x[0]))))

changeResults = zip(products, changeValues) 

"From Q1 to Q2, [[map(changeResults, x -> "[[x[0]]] sales [[if(x[1] > 0){increased}else{decreased}]] by [[abs(x[1])]]")]]."

]]

The output text is:

From Q1 to Q2, Retine sales increased by $295K, Ointmo sales decreased by $458.6K and Glower sales increased by $74.8K.

© Arria Data2Text Limited