[ILibrary] add .resolve()

masque/library.py

@@ -682,6 +682,33 @@ class ILibrary(ILibraryView, MutableMapping[str, 'Pattern'], metaclass=ABCMeta):
     def _merge(self, key_self: str, other: Mapping[str, 'Pattern'], key_other: str) -> None:
         pass
 
+    def resolve(
+            self,
+            other: 'Abstract | str | Pattern | TreeView',
+            append: bool = False,
+            ) -> 'Abstract | Pattern':
+        """
+        Resolve another device (name, Abstract, Pattern, or TreeView) into an Abstract or Pattern.
+        If it is a TreeView, it is first added into this library.
+
+        Args:
+            other: The device to resolve.
+            append: If True and `other` is an `Abstract`, returns the full `Pattern` from the library.
+
+        Returns:
+            An `Abstract` or `Pattern` object.
+        """
+        from .pattern import Pattern        #noqa: PLC0415
+        if not isinstance(other, (str, Abstract, Pattern)):
+            # We got a TreeView; add it into self and grab its topcell as an Abstract
+            other = self << other
+
+        if isinstance(other, str):
+            other = self.abstract(other)
+        if append and isinstance(other, Abstract):
+            other = self[other.name]
+        return other
+
     def rename(
             self,
             old_name: str,