Subtracting a list from each sublist in a nested list

Question

I have a nested list with 1-D sublists of equal length. I want to subtract another list from each of these sublists.

Task: Subtracting B from each element in A to get the result C.

A = {{5,3,5,7,2},{2,6,4,8,3}}

B = {1,2,1,2,1}

C = {{4,1,4,5,1},{1,4,3,6,2}}

I've used multiple tables to perform this. However, the code takes too long, especially for many nests (columns)*. Is there a faster way?

---

*In my case, I have many nests as it is time series data. Each nest represents a new column.

Answer 1

c = Map[Subtract[#, B]&] @ A (* or *)

c =  # - B & /@ A

{{4, 1, 4, 5, 1}, {1, 4, 3, 6, 2}}

Also

A - ConstantArray[B, Length @ A]

{{4, 1, 4, 5, 1}, {1, 4, 3, 6, 2}}

Note: C is a protected system symbol.

Answer 2

In versions 13.1+, you can use Threaded:

A - Threaded[B]

{{4, 1, 4, 5, 1}, {1, 4, 3, 6, 2}}

Threaded:

Answer 3

Using Inner:

A = {{5, 3, 5, 7, 2}, {2, 6, 4, 8, 3}, {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}}
B = {1, 2, 1, 2, 1}

Inner[Subtract, A, B, List]

{{4, 1, 4, 5, 1}, {1, 4, 3, 6, 2}, {0, 0, 2, 2, 4}}

Answer 4

If matrix A is large and speed is a consideration, another possibility is to use a double Transpose

(See this answer by Artes to the question Add a vector to a list of vectors)

A
B
Transpose[Transpose[A]-B]

(* 
{{5, 3, 5, 7, 2}, {2, 6, 4, 8, 3}}
{1, 2, 1, 2, 1}
{{4, 1, 4, 5, 1}, {1, 4, 3, 6, 2}}
*)

And

lstC={{5, 3, 5, 7, 2}, {2, 6, 4, 8, 3}, {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, {1,10,100,1000,100000}};
lstC
B
Transpose[Transpose[lstC]-B]

(*
{{5, 3, 5, 7, 2}, {2, 6, 4, 8, 3}, {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, {1, 10, 100, 1000, 100000}}
{1, 2, 1, 2, 1}
{{4, 1, 4, 5, 1}, {1, 4, 3, 6, 2}, {0, 0, 2, 2, 4}, {0, 8, 99, 998, 99999}}
*)

Transpose Entry Shortcut

Artes has also pointed out that Transpose may be entered "very concisely in the Front-End" as Esc tr Esc

Answer 5

Using Nest with the @kglr's idea:

Nest[Map[Subtract[#, B] &], A, 1]

(*{{4, 1, 4, 5, 1}, {1, 4, 3, 6, 2}}*)

Or using FixedPoint with the @kglr's idea:

FixedPoint[Map[Subtract[#, B] &], A, 1]

(*{{4, 1, 4, 5, 1}, {1, 4, 3, 6, 2}}*)

Or using ReplaceAt with the @kglr's idea:

ReplaceAt[{A}, _ -> Map[#1 - B &], 0]

(*{{4, 1, 4, 5, 1}, {1, 4, 3, 6, 2}}*)