Merge values in map kotlin

Question

I need merge maps mapA andmapB with pairs of \"name\" - \"phone number\" into the final map, sticking together the values for duplicate keys, separated

Answer 1

While I looked at the other solutions I couldn't believe that there isn't an easier way (or ways as easy as the accepted answer without the need to recreate a Map, intermediate new lists, etc.). Here are 3 (of many ;-)) solutions I came up with:

1. Using the keys and mapping the values later:

   (mapA.keys.asSequence() + mapB.keys)
       .associateWith {
         sequenceOf(mapA[it], mapB[it]) // one of the sides may have null values in it (i.e. no entry in the map)...
             .filterNotNull()
             .distinct()
             .toList() // or if you require/prefer, do the following instead: joinToString()
       }
   

2. Using groupingBy and fold (or have a look at: Group by key and fold each group simultaneously (KEEP)):

   (mapA.asSequence() + mapB.asSequence())
     .groupingBy { it.key }
     .fold(mutableSetOf()) { accumulator, element ->
       accumulator.apply {
         add(element.value)
       }
     }
   

   You could also just use an empty String instead and concatenate in the fold operation the way you need it. My first approach just used a sequenceOf instead of the MutableSet. It depends on what you require and what you want to do with the result afterwards.

3. Using Javas Map.merge, but ignoring duplicates in the value and also just concatenating the values:

   val mergedMap: Map = mapA.toMutableMap().apply {
     mapB.forEach { key, value ->
       merge(key, value) { currentValue, addedValue ->
         "$currentValue, $addedValue" // just concatenate... no duplicates-check..
       }
     }
   }
   

   This, of course, can also be written differently, but this way we ensure that mergedMap is still just a Map when accessed again.