How can I save code in an apply loop in R? - r

Question

I'm trying to use R to generate code, both to show my collegues 'what is happening' in the background (and to be able to debug code more easily) and to be able to adjust code in specific cases.
My specific case is far more elaborate, but hopefully this example makes clear what I want:
tables <- function(df,vars=all_of(var_list), weight=1){
table_list <- lapply({{vars}}, function(x){
df %>%
pivot_longer(cols = all_of(x), names_to = "question", values_to = "answer") %>%
group_by(question,answer) %>%
summarise(n = sum(weight)) %>%
mutate(percentage = (n / sum(n)*100)) %>%
ungroup()
}
)
return(table_list)
}
Running tables(df=spss_data,vars = all_of(c("q3","q6")), weight = 1) returns a list of dataframes, which is what I want. What i would like is to also save the code that is used for every variable. For example:
spss_data %>%
pivot_longer(cols = q3, names_to = "question", values_to = "answer") %>%
group_by(question,answer) %>%
summarise(n = sum(weight)) %>%
mutate(percentage = (n / sum(n)*100)) %>%
ungroup()
and
spss_data %>%
pivot_longer(cols = q6, names_to = "question", values_to = "answer") %>%
group_by(question,answer) %>%
summarise(n = sum(weight)) %>%
mutate(percentage = (n / sum(n)*100)) %>%
ungroup()
This code can be stored in a list or vector to be saved later. How can I achieve that?

Answer 1

R Markdown is an authoring format that enables easy creation of dynamic documents, presentations, and reports from R. It combines the core syntax of markdown (an easy-to-write plain text format) with embedded R code chunks that are run so their output can be included in the final document. R Markdown documents are fully reproducible (they can be automatically regenerated whenever underlying R code or data changes). See a concise introduction at https://support.posit.co/hc/en-us/articles/205368677-R-Markdown-Dynamic-Documents-for-R