> On 13-01-20 2:28 PM, Steve Taylor wrote: > >> From: Duncan Murdoch > >> Maybe we just need a manual on how to use the existing help system. But > >> I suspect people who won't read the existing manuals won't read that > >> one, either. > > > > Duncan, I assume you're being facetious. Every R user soon learns to use > help() and help.search() or their equivalents. We don't need a manual to > teach > that. > > There are other parts of the help system that you don't appear to know > about. Run help.start() for the main index page. help() is kind of a > shortcut to the section labelled "Packages". help.search() gets you to > "Search Engine & Keywords". There are 15 other headings to explore as well.
I know about them even tho I didn't mention them. > > > >>> Rolf Turner wrote: > >>>> The "help" facility is applicable to functions and data sets. It is not > >>>> designed > >>>> or intended to give "help" with respect to R syntax (with the exception > >>>> of > >>>> the basic syntax of the operators --- unary and binary --- and the > >>>> associated > >>>> rules of precedence). > > > > Then why are there help pages ?":::", ?"for", ?"NA_character_", ?".C" and > > ?"??" > but not ?"..." ?! > > Those are all functions or other objects, while ... is not. There are > examples of topic aliases that are not objects, e.g. ?Syntax, but mostly > Rolf is right. Most discussion of the syntax is in the manuals. Nevertheless, help("...") is a reasonable thing for a user to do and expect some help. ______________________________________________ R-help@r-project.org mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.