How to count category value of array of List - list

Question

let's say I have a list like the example below
<Categories>myList = [
Categories(
nameCategory: 'Book',
amount: '20'
),
Categories(
nameCategory: 'Book',
amount: '40'
),
Categories(
nameCategory: 'Food',
amount: '20'
),
Categories(
nameCategory: 'Food',
amount: '15'
),
];
How I can combine the duplicate values of that list and count the value of the list based on name ??
I can combine the list and the count value of the list but that only works just in a general list like sum total
what I want to do is make a new List but only combine several parts that share the same property like the same category or same class like that
this is an example what I want to achieve
<Categories> anotherList= [
Categories(
nameCategory: 'Book',
amount: '60'
),
Categories(
nameCategory: 'Food',
amount: '35'
),
];

Answer 1

I would replace your List<Categories> with a Map<String, Categories>. Then you can easily look up the Categories object given its name and mutate the existing Categories object. For example, something like:
var mergedCategories = <String, Categories>{};
for (var categories in myList) {
var name = categories.nameCategory;
var amount = categories.amount;
(mergedCategories[name] ??= Categories(nameCategory: name, amount: 0))
.amount += amount;
}

Answer 2

You're essentially trying to get an aggregate value from a list, which is what List.fold is meant to help with.
Here's an example of how you might use it:
class Category {
final String name;
int amount;
Category({required this.name, required this.amount});
String toString() => "Category(name: $name, amount: $amount)";
}
void main() {
final categories = [
Category(
name: 'Book',
amount: 20
),
Category(
name: 'Book',
amount: 40
),
Category(
name: 'Food',
amount: 20
),
Category(
name: 'Food',
amount: 15
),
];
/**
* Here is where the aggregation is done
*/
final List<Category> aggregated = categories.fold([], (list, item) {
try {
// Check whether the category is already in the aggregate
final existingCategory = list.firstWhere((c) => c.name == item.name);
// Category is already in the list, so just add the amount of the current item.
existingCategory.amount += item.amount;
return list;
} catch (_) {
// The category has not yet been added - so add it here
list.add(item);
return list;
}
});
print(aggregated);
}
I've changed your category class a bit for simplicity, but the principle should be the same. You can read more about the fold function here: https://api.dart.dev/stable/2.13.4/dart-core/Iterable/fold.html

Answer 3

A pretty straightforward method is by using the groupBy function provided by the collection.dart package.
import 'package:collection/collection.dart';
groupBy<Categories, String>(list, (c) => c.nameCategory).values.map(
(list) => list.reduce(
(a, b) => new Categories(a.nameCategory, a.amount + b.amount)
)
);