prep_data {CooRTweet}

prep_data

Description

Function to rename columns of a given data.table. This function standardizes column names to "object_id", "account_id", "content_id", and "timestamp_share". It is useful for preparing datasets for further analysis by ensuring consistent column naming.

Usage

prep_data(
  x,
  object_id = NULL,
  account_id = NULL,
  content_id = NULL,
  timestamp_share = NULL
)

Arguments

x

A data.table or an object that can be converted into a data.table. This is the dataset whose columns will be renamed.

object_id

The current name of the column that should be renamed to "object_id". If NULL, no renaming is performed on this column.

account_id

The current name of the column that should be renamed to "account_id". If NULL, no renaming is performed on this column.

content_id

The current name of the column that should be renamed to "content_id". If NULL, no renaming is performed on this column.

timestamp_share

The current name of the column that should be renamed to "timestamp_share". The data in this column should be either in UNIX format or in a "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S" format. If the data is in a different format or conversion is unsuccessful, the function stops with an error. If NULL, no renaming or conversion is performed on this column.

Details

This function allows the user to specify the current names of columns in their data.table that they wish to rename to a standard format. The function checks for each parameter and renames the corresponding column in the data.table. If the parameter is NULL, no change is made to that column. The function ensures the data input is a data.table; if not, it converts it before renaming. For the 'timestamp_share' column, the function expects the format to be either UNIX format (integer representing seconds since the Unix epoch) or "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S". If the 'timestamp_share' is in a different format, the function attempts to convert it to UNIX format using base R functions.

Value

A data.table with the specified columns renamed according to the input parameters. If no renaming is required, the original data.table is returned unaltered.

Examples

dt <- data.table::data.table(old_object_id = 1:3, old_account_id_y = 4:6)
dt <- prep_data(dt, object_id = "old_object_id", account_id = "old_account_id_y")