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Safely delete individual-specimen links

safe_delete_specimen_links.Rd

**DANGER: This permanently deletes data from the database!**

This function safely deletes one or more rows from `data_link_specimens` (the table that records which individual trees are linked to herbarium specimens). Links can be selected by individual ID, specimen ID, or direct link ID.

**Individuals and specimens are preserved** — only the link records are removed.

**Safety features:** - Dry-run mode to preview what will be deleted - Shows a summary of every link that would be removed - Requires explicit confirmation (unless `force = TRUE`) - Uses database transactions (rollback on error) - Detailed logging of each step

Usage

safe_delete_specimen_links(
  individual_ids = NULL,
  specimen_ids = NULL,
  link_ids = NULL,
  con = NULL,
  dry_run = TRUE,
  force = FALSE,
  verbose = TRUE
)

Arguments

individual_ids

Integer vector. Delete all links involving these individual ID(s) (`id_n` from `data_individuals`). Default NULL.

specimen_ids

Integer vector. Delete all links involving these specimen ID(s) (`id_specimen` from `specimens`). Default NULL.

Integer vector. Delete specific link record(s) by their primary key (`id_link_specimens` from `data_link_specimens`). Takes precedence over the other selectors when provided. Default NULL.

con

Database connection. If NULL, will connect automatically.

dry_run

Logical. If TRUE, shows what would be deleted without deleting. Default TRUE for safety.

force

Logical. If TRUE, skips confirmation prompts. Default FALSE. **USE WITH EXTREME CAUTION!**

verbose

Logical. Show detailed progress? Default TRUE.

Value

List with deletion summary (invisible).

Examples

if (FALSE) { # \dontrun{
con <- call.mydb()

# STEP 1: Always do a dry-run first!

# Remove all links for a given individual
safe_delete_specimen_links(individual_ids = 12345, dry_run = TRUE)

# Remove all links pointing to a given specimen
safe_delete_specimen_links(specimen_ids = 678, dry_run = TRUE)

# Remove specific link records by their PK
safe_delete_specimen_links(link_ids = c(1001, 1002), dry_run = TRUE)

# STEP 2: Review the output, then delete if sure
safe_delete_specimen_links(individual_ids = 12345, dry_run = FALSE)
} # }