Flatten

Overview¶

The Flatten Block takes a list of lists and flattens it into a single list. It iterates through each sublist and merges all the elements into a single list, removing one level of nesting.

This Block is useful for simplifying nested list structures, making it easier to work with a single list of elements.

Description¶

Flattens a list of lists into a single list

Metadata¶

Category: Function

Configuration Options¶

No configuration options available.

Inputs¶

Name	Data Type	Description
lists	`list[list[Any]]`

Outputs¶

Name	Data Type	Description
list	`list[Any]`

State Variables¶

No state variables available.

Example(s)¶

Example 1: Flatten a list of lists of numbers¶

Create a Flatten Block.
Provide the input: [[1, 2], [3, 4], [5, 6]].
The Block will output [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6], merging all elements into a single list.

Example 2: Flatten a list of mixed data types¶

Set up a Flatten Block.
Provide the input: [['apple', 'banana'], ['cherry'], ['date', 'fig']].
The output will be ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry', 'date', 'fig'], flattening all the sublists into one.

Example 3: Handle an empty list of lists¶

Create a Flatten Block.
Provide an empty list of lists: [].
The output will be an empty list: [].

Error Handling¶

The Flatten Block assumes that the input is a valid list of lists. If the input is not structured as expected (e.g., contains non-list elements), it may raise an error or result in undefined behavior.
If any sublist is None, it will result in an error when trying to flatten the list. Ensure all sublists are properly structured.

FAQ¶

What happens if one of the sublists is empty?

If a sublist is empty, the Flatten Block will skip over it and continue processing the other sublists. For example, flattening [[1, 2], [], [3, 4]] will result in [1, 2, 3, 4].

Can I flatten lists with different data types?

Yes, the Flatten Block works with lists containing mixed data types. It will merge all elements, regardless of their types, into a single list.

What happens if the input list contains non-list elements?

The Flatten Block expects the input to be a list of lists. If non-list elements are included at the top level, the Block may raise an error or behave unexpectedly. Ensure the input is properly formatted as a list of lists.

What if my input list has more than two levels of nesting?

The Flatten Block only flattens the list by one level. If you have multiple levels of nested lists (e.g., [[[1, 2]], [[3, 4]]]), you'll need to apply the Flatten Block multiple times or use a different approach to fully flatten the structure.