Re: [Rd] Possible tweak to R intro - was RE: [R] Subseting a data.frame -
On 18/10/2013 15:12, S Ellison wrote: Transferred from R-help: From: S Ellison Subsetting using subset() is perhaps the most natural way of subsetting data frames; perhaps a line or two and an example could usefully be included in the 'Working with data frames' section of the R Intro? From: Bert Gunter [mailto:gunter.ber...@gene.com] The R Intro Manual was largely or entirely the work of Bill Venables some years ago. So it is not really a part of R's maintained document system and has thus not been kept up to date with changes like the convenience function, subset(), which is basically a wrapper for [] . This is not to say that your suggestion is not worthwhile, only to explain why it probably won't be acted upon. No, this is deliberate and R-intro is kept up-to-date (although it remains an introduction, not a full manual). Some of us think convenience functions such as subset() and transform() were mistakes, not least as we see the problems they cause when people try to use them in functions and packages. Sooner or later you will need to learn to use indexing, and knowing about two systems with different scoping rules is too confusing for quite a few R users. It's trivial enough that I could offer a 3-line patch if someone has time and inclination to add it... S Ellison -- Brian D. Ripley, rip...@stats.ox.ac.uk Professor of Applied Statistics, http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~ripley/ University of Oxford, Tel: +44 1865 272861 (self) 1 South Parks Road, +44 1865 272866 (PA) Oxford OX1 3TG, UKFax: +44 1865 272595 __ R-devel@r-project.org mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-devel
Re: [Rd] Possible tweak to R intro - was RE: [R] Subseting a data.frame -
On Oct 21, 2013, at 10:17 , Prof Brian Ripley wrote: Some of us think convenience functions such as subset() and transform() were mistakes, not least as we see the problems they cause when people try to use them in functions and packages. Sooner or later you will need to learn to use indexing, and knowing about two systems with different scoping rules is too confusing for quite a few R users. The author of the two functions begs to differ, except that in hindsight he might have selected to require a formula-style ~ prefix on arguments that have nonstandard evaluation. The potential confusion is of the same sort as when lm() or anything else with a formula interface is used in a function. I agree, however, that subset() is pretty useless for generic indexing, and that for the target audience of R-Intro, you might as well introduce proper indexing right away. And, of course, the document has named authors, who are entitled to have their opinions reflected in its contents. -- Peter Dalgaard, Professor Center for Statistics, Copenhagen Business School Solbjerg Plads 3, 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark Phone: (+45)38153501 Email: pd@cbs.dk Priv: pda...@gmail.com __ R-devel@r-project.org mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-devel
Re: [Rd] Possible tweak to R intro - was RE: [R] Subseting a data.frame -
Thank you. I stand corrected. Cheers, Bert On Mon, Oct 21, 2013 at 1:17 AM, Prof Brian Ripley rip...@stats.ox.ac.uk wrote: On 18/10/2013 15:12, S Ellison wrote: Transferred from R-help: From: S Ellison Subsetting using subset() is perhaps the most natural way of subsetting data frames; perhaps a line or two and an example could usefully be included in the 'Working with data frames' section of the R Intro? From: Bert Gunter [mailto:gunter.ber...@gene.com] The R Intro Manual was largely or entirely the work of Bill Venables some years ago. So it is not really a part of R's maintained document system and has thus not been kept up to date with changes like the convenience function, subset(), which is basically a wrapper for [] . This is not to say that your suggestion is not worthwhile, only to explain why it probably won't be acted upon. No, this is deliberate and R-intro is kept up-to-date (although it remains an introduction, not a full manual). Some of us think convenience functions such as subset() and transform() were mistakes, not least as we see the problems they cause when people try to use them in functions and packages. Sooner or later you will need to learn to use indexing, and knowing about two systems with different scoping rules is too confusing for quite a few R users. It's trivial enough that I could offer a 3-line patch if someone has time and inclination to add it... S Ellison -- Brian D. Ripley, rip...@stats.ox.ac.uk Professor of Applied Statistics, http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~ripley/ University of Oxford, Tel: +44 1865 272861 (self) 1 South Parks Road, +44 1865 272866 (PA) Oxford OX1 3TG, UKFax: +44 1865 272595 -- Bert Gunter Genentech Nonclinical Biostatistics (650) 467-7374 __ R-devel@r-project.org mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-devel
[Rd] Possible tweak to R intro - was RE: [R] Subseting a data.frame -
Transferred from R-help: From: S Ellison Subsetting using subset() is perhaps the most natural way of subsetting data frames; perhaps a line or two and an example could usefully be included in the 'Working with data frames' section of the R Intro? From: Bert Gunter [mailto:gunter.ber...@gene.com] The R Intro Manual was largely or entirely the work of Bill Venables some years ago. So it is not really a part of R's maintained document system and has thus not been kept up to date with changes like the convenience function, subset(), which is basically a wrapper for [] . This is not to say that your suggestion is not worthwhile, only to explain why it probably won't be acted upon. It's trivial enough that I could offer a 3-line patch if someone has time and inclination to add it... S Ellison *** This email and any attachments are confidential. Any use, copying or disclosure other than by the intended recipient is unauthorised. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately via +44(0)20 8943 7000 or notify postmas...@lgcgroup.com and delete this message and any copies from your computer and network. LGC Limited. Registered in England 2991879. Registered office: Queens Road, Teddington, Middlesex, TW11 0LY, UK __ R-devel@r-project.org mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-devel
