Function argument as name of variable/array in R - r

I'd like to be able to create a vector with R but determine its name within the function call. In SAS I would use the macro language to perform a loop but with R, I can't find how to refer to a variable by name e.g. (Obviously this does not work but it describes what I'd like to do)
fun <- function(X, vectorName) {
paste(vectorName) <- 1:X
}
I'd like to be able to call fun(5, v) and get a vector v = c(1,2,3,4,5) out the end.

Although this is possible, it's not something you should do. A function should only have a return value, which you then can assign, e.g.:
v <- seq_len(5)
Or if you have to pass a variable name programmatically:
myname <- "w"
assign(myname, seq_len(5))
(Though I can't think of a reason why you'd need that.)

Related

inverting an index using clusters

This code is about inverting an index using clusters.
Unfortunately I do not understand the line with recognize<-...
I know that the function Vectorize applies the inner function element-wise, but I do not understand the inner function here.
The parameters (uniq, test) are not defined, how can we apply which then? Also why is there a "uniq" as text right after?
slots <- as.integer(Sys.getenv("NSLOTS"))
cl <- makeCluster(slots, type = "PSOCK")
inverted_index4<-function(x){
y <- unique(x)
recognize <- Vectorize(function(uniq,text) which(text %in% uniq),"uniq",SIMPLIFY = F)
y2 <- parLapply(cl, y, recognize, x)
unlist(y2,recursive=FALSE)
}
The
Vectorise()
function is just making a new element wise, vectorised function of the custom function
function(uniq,text) which(text %in% uniq).
The 'uniq' string is the argument of that function that you must specify you want to iterate over. Such that now you can pass a vector of length greater than one for uniq, and get returned a list with an element for the output of the function evaluated for every element of the input vector uniq.
I would suggest the author make the code a little clearer, better commented etc. the vectorise function doesn't need to be inside the function call necessarily.
Note
ParLapply()
isn't a function I recognise. But the x will be passed to the recognise function and the second argument text should presumably be defined earlier on, in the global environment, .GlobalEnv().

How can I capture the name of a variable still to be assigned in R?

Note: This is separate from, though perhaps similar to, the
deparse-substitute trick
of attaining the name of a passed argument.
Consider the following situation: I have some function to be called, and the return value
is to be assigned to some variable, say x.
Inside the function, how can I capture that the name to be assigned to the
returned value is x, upon calling and assigning the function?
For example:
nameCapture <- function() {
# arbitrary code
captureVarName()
}
x <- nameCapture()
x
## should return some reference to the name "x"
What in R closest approximates captureVarName() referenced in the example?
My intuition was that there would be something in the call stack to do with
assign(), where x would be an argument and could be extracted, but
sys.call() yielded nothing of the sort; does it then occur internally, and if
so, what is a sensible way to attain something like captureVarName()?
My notion is that it would act in a similar manner to how the following works, though without the assign() function, using the <- operator instead:
nameCapture <- function() sys.call(1)[[2]]
assign("x", nameCapture())
x
# [1] "x"

Is there a way to re-assign an R accessor function and use it to update the variable properties it accesses?

In my code there is a situation where I conditionally want to use one accessor function or another throughout the code. Instead of having an if-else statement for every time I want to pick which accessor to use and coding it explicitly, I tried to conditionally assign either of the accessor functions to a new function called accessor_fun and use it throughout the code, but this returns an error when I use the accessor function to reassign the values it accesses. Here is a simplified example of the problem I am having:
#reassigning the base r function names to a new function name
alt_names_fun <- names
example_list <- list(cat = 7, dog = 8, fish = 33)
other_example_list <- list(table = 44, chair = 101, desk = 35)
#works
alt_names_fun(example_list)
#throws error
alt_names_fun(example_list) <- alt_names_fun(other_example_list)
#still throws error
access_and_assign <- function(x, y, accessor) {
accessor(x) <- accessor(y)
}
access_and_assign(x = example_list, y = other_example_list, accessor = alt_names_fun)
#still throws error
alt_names_fun_2 <- function(x){names(x)}
alt_names_fun_2(example_list) <- alt_names_fun_2(other_example_list)
#works
names(example_list) <- names(other_example_list)
As you see if you try the code above, an example of the kind of error I am getting is
Error in alt_names_fun(example_list) <- alt_names_fun(other_example_list) :
could not find function "alt_names_fun<-"
So my question is, is there a way to do the reassignment of R accessor functions and use them in a way like I am trying to in the example above?
Accessor functions are really pairs of functions. One for retrieval and one for assignment. If you want to replicate that, you need to replicate both parts
alt_names_fun <- names
`alt_names_fun<-` <- `names<-`
The assignment versions have <- in their name. This is a special naming convection that R uses to find them. Since these are character normally not allowed in basic symbol names, you need to use the back ticks to enclose the function names.

Preserving data structure when returning values from function in R

I currently have a basic script written in R, which has two functions embedded within another:
FunctionA <- Function() {
results_from_B <- FunctionB()
results_from_C <- FunctionC()
}
Function B generates some data which is then analysed in Function C.
If I stop the code within function A, I can see the structure of results_from_C - this appears under 'values' and I can refer to different elements using the syntax results_from_C$column_name1.
I achieved this within Function C by specifying the returned values using:
return(list(column_name_1 = value1, column_name_2 = value2)
However, I cannot work out how I can return these same values (in the same structure) from Function A - everything I try returns a list which is formatted as 'Data' rather than 'Values' and cannot be indexed using the syntax results_from_A$column_name1.
Can anyone help me to understand what I need to do in order to extract results from Function C outside of Function A?
Thanks in advance
I don't understand what you mean by formatted as 'Data' rather than 'Values'.
There's nothing wrong with the setup you describe, I every now and then use functions inside functions, it's perfectly OK.
(Note that R is case sensitive, it's function not Function.)
FunctionA <- function() {
FunctionB <- function() 1:2*pi
FunctionC <- function(x)
list(column_name_1 = x[1], column_name_2 = x[2])
results_from_B <- FunctionB()
results_from_C <- FunctionC(results_from_B)
results_from_C
}
result <- FunctionA()
result
$column_name_1
[1] 3.141593
$column_name_2
[1] 6.283185
result$column_name_1
[1] 3.141593
Is this it? If not, please clarify your question.

How do I call a namespaced function without evaluating the parameters you are giving it?

In R, the idiomatic way to call another function without evaluating the parameters you give it is apparently as follows:
Call <- match.call(expand.dots = TRUE)
# Modify parameters here as needed and set unneeded ones to NULL.
Call[[1L]] <- as.name("name.of.function.to.be.called.here")
eval.parent(Call)
However, when I put a namespaced name (e.g. utils::write.csv) in the as.name() call, I get an error:
"could not find function "utils::write.csv"
What is the proper way of using this R idiom to call a namespaced function?
Here is a solution using do.call(), which both constructs and evaluates the function call.
Like the approach you started with, this one uses the fact that R calls are lists in which: (a) the first element is the name of a function; and (b) all following elements are arguments to that function.
j <- function(x, file) {
Call <- match.call(expand.dots = TRUE)
arglist <- as.list(Call)[-1]
do.call(utils::write.csv, arglist)
}
dat <- data.frame(x=1:10, y=rnorm(10))
j(dat, file="outfilename.csv")
EDIT: FWIW, here's an example from plot.formula in base R, which uses a construct similar to the one above:
{
m <- match.call(expand.dots = FALSE)
eframe <- parent.frame()
. . .
. . .
m <- as.list(m)
m[[1L]] <- stats::model.frame.default
m <- as.call(c(m, list(na.action = NULL)))
mf <- eval(m, eframe)
. . .
. . .
}
The function uses the do.call() construct later on. Going a bit deeper into the weeds, my reading is that in the snippet shown here, it instead uses several steps mostly because of the need to add na.action=NULL to the list of arguments.
In any case, it looks like the do.call() options is as close to canonical as could be desired.
As #Josh O'Brien answered, do.call is much more straight forward to use.
The first argument to do.call can be either a function name or an actual function.
The function name can NOT contain the namespace qualifier. The :: part is actually a function that takes the names on both sides and find the corresponding function, so it must be evaluated separately to work.
So, with do.call, you need something like:
# ...Stuff from Josh's answer goes here
# And then:
do.call(utils::write.csv, arglist)
And with eval:
Call <- match.call(expand.dots = TRUE)
# Modify parameters here as needed and set unneeded ones to NULL.
Call[[1L]] <- utils::write.csv
eval.parent(Call)
Note the lack of quotes around the function name. That evaluates to the function closure.
Another way of getting the function from a namespace-qualified name:
eval(parse(text="utils::write.csv"))
Again, the :: function is called that correctly finds the function.
Another more manual way is to extract the namespace name & function name and then do the lookup yourself:
x <- strsplit("utils::write.csv", "::")[[1]]
get(x[2], asNamespace(x[1]))

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