--- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
+++ b/app/soc/logic/dicts.py	Thu Oct 16 23:23:16 2008 +0000
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+#!/usr/bin/python2.5
+#
+# Copyright 2008 the Melange authors.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+"""Logic related to handling dictionaries
+"""
+
+__authors__ = [
+  '"Sverre Rabbelier" <sverre@rabbelier.nl>',
+  ]
+
+
+def mergeDicts(target, updates):
+  """Like the builtin 'update' method but does not overwrite existing values
+
+  Args:
+    target: The dictionary that is to be updated, may be None
+    updates: A dictionary containing new values for the original dict
+
+  Returns: the target dictionary 
+  """
+
+  if not target:
+    target = {}
+
+  for key, value in updates.iteritems():
+    if key not in target:
+      target[key] = value
+
+  return target