[SPARK-19453] Correct DataFrame.replace docs

• Type: Improvement
• Status: Resolved
• Priority: Minor
• Resolution: Fixed
• Affects Version/s: 1.5.0, 1.6.0, 2.0.0, 2.1.0, 2.2.0
• Fix Version/s: 2.2.0
• Component/s: Documentation, PySpark, SQL
• Assignee: Maciej Szymkiewicz
• Reporter: Maciej Szymkiewicz
• Created: 03/Feb/17 19:42
• Updated: 14/Feb/17 17:42
• Resolved: 14/Feb/17 17:42

Description

Current docstring provides incorrect description of to_replace argument:

If the value is a dict, then `value` is ignored and `to_replace` must be a mapping from column name (string) to replacement value.

It looks like it has been copied from `na.fill` docs. In fact dict should provide mapping from value to replacement value.

Moreover docs fail to explain some fundamental limitations (like lack of support for heterogeneous values) and some usage scenarios.

Issue Links

• relates to: SPARK-19454 Improve DataFrame.replace API
• links to: [Github] Pull Request #16792 (zero323)