From a9ef620af688cc64c1cb1e53896f2112cd7e6ec1 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: mcarans <rans@email.com>
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2026 14:41:31 +1300
Subject: [PATCH] Make save_iterable make more sense by ordering according to
 headers if it is a list of strings. Also only the first row needs reordering
 for a dict.

---
 src/hdx/utilities/saver.py        | 44 +++++++++++++------------------
 tests/hdx/utilities/test_saver.py | 24 +++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 43 insertions(+), 25 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/hdx/utilities/saver.py b/src/hdx/utilities/saver.py
index 41972ab..745a089 100644
--- a/src/hdx/utilities/saver.py
+++ b/src/hdx/utilities/saver.py
@@ -281,10 +281,13 @@ def save_iterable(
     row_function: Callable[[dict], dict | None] | None = None,
     no_empty: bool = True,
 ) -> list:
-    """Save an iterable of rows in dict or list form to a csv. (The headers
+    """Save an iterable of rows in dict or list form to a csv. The headers
     argument is either a row number (rows start counting at 1), or the actual
-    headers defined as a list of strings. If not set, all rows will be treated
-    as containing values.)
+    headers defined as a list of strings, the order of which defines the column order.
+    Columns not named in that list of strings will be dropped. If headers is not set,
+    all rows will be treated as containing values. The columns argument defines which
+    columns will be output. It can be used in conjunction with an integer headers with
+    columns selecting the columns and hedders selecting the starting row.
 
     Args:
         filepath: Path to write to
@@ -327,32 +330,23 @@ def write_rows(newrows, has_header, headers) -> None:
     if isinstance(row, dict):
         has_header = True
         row = row_function(row)
+        while row is None:
+            row = next(rows)
+            row = row_function(row)
         if columns:
-            if row is not None:
-                newrow = {}
-                for column in columns:
-                    if column in row:
-                        newrow[column] = row[column]
-                newrows.append(newrow)
-            for row in rows:
-                row = row_function(row)
-                if row is None:
-                    continue
-                newrow = {}
-                for column in columns:
-                    if column in row:
-                        newrow[column] = row[column]
-                newrows.append(newrow)
+            row = {k: row[k] for k in columns if k in row}
+            newrows.append(row)
             if headers is None:
                 headers = columns
         else:
-            if row is not None:
-                newrows.append(row)
-            for row in rows:
-                row = row_function(row)
-                if row is None:
-                    continue
-                newrows.append(row)
+            if headers and isinstance(headers, list):
+                row = {k: row[k] for k in headers if k in row}
+            newrows.append(row)
+        for row in rows:
+            row = row_function(row)
+            if row is None:
+                continue
+            newrows.append(row)
     else:
         if headers is None:
             headers = 1
diff --git a/tests/hdx/utilities/test_saver.py b/tests/hdx/utilities/test_saver.py
index 64847d5..840fc7c 100755
--- a/tests/hdx/utilities/test_saver.py
+++ b/tests/hdx/utilities/test_saver.py
@@ -353,6 +353,12 @@ def test_save_iterable(self):
                 ["5", "6", "4"],
                 ["8", "9", "7"],
             ]
+            save_iterable(
+                str(filepath), list_of_dicts, headers=2, columns=["h2", "h3", "h1"]
+            )
+            newll = read_list_from_csv(filepath)
+            remove(filepath)
+            assert newll == [["2", "3", "1"], ["5", "6", "4"], ["8", "9", "7"]]
 
             xlfilepath = filepath.with_suffix(".xlsx")
             rows = save_iterable(
@@ -465,6 +471,24 @@ def row_func(row):
                 ["4", "5", "6", "b"],
                 ["7", "8", "9", "c"],
             ]
+            save_iterable(filepath, list_of_dicts, headers=["h2", "h1", "h4", "h3"])
+            newll = read_list_from_csv(filepath)
+            remove(filepath)
+            assert newll == [
+                ["h2", "h1", "h4", "h3"],
+                ["2", "1", "a", "3"],
+                ["5", "4", "b", "6"],
+                ["8", "7", "c", "9"],
+            ]
+            save_iterable(filepath, list_of_dicts, headers=["h2", "h1", "h4"])
+            newll = read_list_from_csv(filepath)
+            remove(filepath)
+            assert newll == [
+                ["h2", "h1", "h4"],
+                ["2", "1", "a"],
+                ["5", "4", "b"],
+                ["8", "7", "c"],
+            ]
             save_iterable(filepath, list_of_dicts)
             newll = read_list_from_csv(filepath)
             remove(filepath)