On 28/06/13 04:47, Jeff Newmiller wrote:
<SNIP>
A common error by beginners (which may or may not be your problem in this case) is to create a
variable called "data". Unfortunately this hides the function named "data" and
from that time forward that R session doesn't work when you type example code that uses the data
function.
<SNIP>
This is simply not true. I believe it *used* to be true, sometime
waaaaayyyy back,
but hasn't been true for years. The R language is much cleverer now.
If there
is a function "melvin()" somewhere on the search path and also a data object
"melvin" (earlier on the search path) then doing
melvin(<whatever>)
will correctly call the function melvin() with no complaints. The R
language
"can tell" by the parentheses that you mean the *function* melvin and
not the
data object "melvin".
E.g.
data <- 42
require(akima)
akima
Error: object 'akima' not found
data(akima) # No error message, nor nothin'!
akima
# The data set "akima" is displayed.
All that being said it is ***BAD PRACTICE***, just in terms of
comprehensibility
and avoiding confusion, to give a data set set the same name as a function
(either built in, or one of your own).
fortune("dog")
is relevant.
cheers,
Rolf Turner
______________________________________________
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.
