On 01-Mar-10 22:44:22, Jim Lemon wrote: > On 03/02/2010 02:02 AM, Karl Ove Hufthammer wrote: >>... >> Of course I agree that 'the idea of a list is so fundamental to R that >> it needs to be something learned pretty early', but is there any harm >> in >> slightly 'blur[ing] the distinction between dataframes and matrices', >> as >> a convenience to the user? Or, in other words, what does one *gain* by >> having '$' on named matrices and vectors give a confusing error >> message >> instead of the expected results? Dinstinction for dinstinction's own >> sake is of little use. >> > > Matrices are all one type, from finish back to start, > while lists can manage many just by keeping them apart. > Like foxes, geese and corn that must be ferried 'cross the Styx, > it's not a good idea to let the separate columns mix. > So yield not to temptation when the two appear to match, > for appearances mislead and in the substance lies the catch. > Convenience is a quicksand that can suck the user down. > 'Tis better to avoid the stuff and know one's way around. > > Jim
That HAS to be a Fortune!!!!! Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <ted.hard...@manchester.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 Date: 01-Mar-10 Time: 23:08:20 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------ ______________________________________________ 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.