Using the dplyr full_join() operation, I am trying to perform the equivalent of a basic merge() operation in which no common variables exist (unable to satisfy the "by=" argument). This will blend two data frames and return all possible combinations.
However, the current full_join() function requires a common variable. I am unable to locate another dplyr function that can help with this. How can I perform this operation using functions specific to the dplyr library?
df_a = data.frame(department=c(1,2,3,4))
df_b = data.frame(period=c(2014,2015,2016,2017))
#This works as desired
big_df = merge(df_a,df_b)
#I'd like to perform the following in a much bigger operation:
big_df = dplyr::full_join(df_a,df_b)
#Error: No common variables. Please specify `by` param.