Fallback Absolute Difference Between Two Vectors (type-preserving)

Computes the difference between two numeric or integer vectors element-wise. If both values are present, returns pmax(abs(col1 - col2), minimum). If only one value is present, returns the non-missing value or minimum, whichever is greater. If both are missing, returns NA of the appropriate type.

Usage

fallback_diff(col1, col2, minimum = 0)

Arguments

col1

Numeric or integer vector. First input column.

col2

Numeric or integer vector. Second input column.

minimum

Numeric or integer scalar. Minimum allowable value for the result (default is 0).

Value

An integer or numeric vector with the same length as the inputs. Each element is:

• the absolute difference between col1 and col2, if both are non-missing,

• the non-missing value if only one is present,

• NA_integer_ or NA_real_ if both are missing.

In all cases, the result is constrained to be no less than minimum.

Details

The return type matches the inputs:

• If both inputs are integer vectors (and minimum is an integer scalar), the result is integer with NA_integer_ where both are missing.

• Otherwise, the result is numeric (double) with NA_real_ where both are missing.

Examples

fallback_diff(5, 3)        # 2
#> [1] 2
fallback_diff(NA, 4)       # 4
#> [1] 4
fallback_diff(7, NA)       # 7
#> [1] 7
fallback_diff(4, 9)        # 0
#> [1] 5
fallback_diff(NA, NA)      # NA_real_
#> [1] NA

xi <- c(5L, NA, 7L)
yi <- c(3L, 4L, NA_integer_)
fallback_diff(xi, yi)      # integer output
#> [1] 2 4 7