Extract the Most Processed Variables from a List, Optionally Excluding Transformations

The get_processed_list function takes a character vector of variable names and selects the most processed version of each base variable name, with an option to exclude variables that have undergone certain transformations indicated by a '.t' in their names. The most processed version of a variable is considered to be the one with the most suffixes (segments separated by "."), excluding '.t' segments if specified.

Usage

get_processed_list(var_list, include_t = TRUE)

Arguments

var_list

A character vector of variable names, where the base variable name and its processing stages are separated by dots.

include_t

A logical value indicating whether to include variables with transformation stages ('.t'). Defaults to TRUE. If FALSE, variables with '.t' in their names are excluded from consideration.

Value

A character vector containing the most processed version of each base variable name from the input list, according to the specified criteria.

Details

This function is particularly useful in scenarios where multiple versions of each variable exist in your dataset, and you need to select only the most processed version of each, with or without transformation stages. It allows for greater control over the selection of variables for analysis. The output order is preserved based on the order of base variable names in the input list.

Examples

if (FALSE) {
# Variable list with different processing stages, including transformations
var_list <- c("var1", "var1.a", "var1.a.b", "var2", "var2.a", "var1.a.b.t")

# Get the most processed version of each variable, excluding transformations
processed_list <- get_processed_list(var_list, include_t = FALSE)

# Get the most processed version of each variable, including transformations
processed_list_with_t <- get_processed_list(var_list, include_t = TRUE)
}