SetSymmetricDifference / List Layer

Compute the symmetric difference between two variable-length lists. Returns a list containing elements that exist in either list but not in both. Similar to Python's symmetric_difference() or XOR operation for sets.

Mathematical definition: For sets A and B, the symmetric difference A △ B is defined as: $A △ B = (A ∖ B) \cup (B ∖ A)$ Or equivalently: $A △ B = (A \cup B) ∖ (A \cap B)$

Example transformation:

left_list	right_list	sym_difference
[1, 2, 3]	[2, 3, 4]	[1, 4]
[a, b, c]	[b, d]	[a, c, d]
[1, 1, 2]	[2, 2, 3]	[1, 3]
[x, y]	[]	[x, y]
[]	[1, 2]	[1, 2]
[1, null, 3]	[1, 2]	[2, 3]

Properties:

Commutative: $A △ B = B △ A$
Associative: $(A △ B) △ C = A △ (B △ C)$
Identity: $A △\emptyset = A$
Self-inverse: $A △ A = \emptyset$

Common applications:

Finding changes between versions
Detecting mutual exclusions
Identifying discrepancies
Finding unique elements across sets
Analyzing version differences
Computing XOR-like operations

Note: Duplicates in input lists are removed (set semantics). Null values are ignored. Order of elements in result is not guaranteed. Lists can have different lengths.

Table

SelectLeft

column

The first list column (SelectLeft) for symmetric difference. Examples:

Version 1 features: [f1, f2, f3]
User A permissions: [read, write]
Original tags: [urgent, important] Lists can have different lengths. Duplicates allowed but treated as single elements.

SelectRight

column

The second list column (SelectRight) for symmetric difference. Examples:

Version 2 features: [f2, f3, f4]
User B permissions: [read, admin]
Updated tags: [important, critical] Lists can have different lengths. Duplicates allowed but treated as single elements.

AsColumn

name

Name for the new column. If not provided, the system generates a unique name. If AsColumn matches an existing column, the existing column is replaced. The name should follow valid column naming conventions.