"Does saving of variables speed up processing" no "or save memory" no. The manual is quite explicit: > ?"|>" ... Currently, pipe operations are implemented as syntax transformations. So an expression written as 'x |> f(y)' is parsed as 'f(x, y)'.
Strictly speaking, using |> *doesn't* save any variables. x |> f(y) |> g() |> h(1,z) simply is h(g(f(x,y)),1,z) in which precisely the same variables appear. All that changes is the order in which you write the function names; the order in which things are evaluated does not change (the manual is explicit about that too). I personally find |> in R extremely confusing because in x |> f(y) |> g() |> h(1,z) it LOOKS as if there are calls to f(f), to g(), and to h(1,z) and in Haskell or F# that would be true, but in R the expressions f(y), g(), and h(1,z) are NOT evaluated. |> is and has to be special syntax with a very restricted right-hand side. Eliminating well-chosen variables can of course make code much less readable. It's funny how my code seems prettier using |> but other people's code seems hopelessly obscure... On Wed, 4 Jan 2023 at 06:19, Sorkin, John <jsor...@som.umaryland.edu> wrote: > Tim, > > Thank you for your reply. I did not know about the |> operator. Do both > %>% and |> work in base R? > > You suggested that the pipe operator can produce code with fewer > variables. May I ask you to send a short example in which the pipe operator > saves variables. Does said saving of variables speed up processing or > result in less memory usage? > > Thank you, > John > > ________________________________________ > From: Ebert,Timothy Aaron <teb...@ufl.edu> > Sent: Tuesday, January 3, 2023 12:07 PM > To: Sorkin, John; 'R-help Mailing List' > Subject: RE: Pipe operator > > The pipe shortens code and results in fewer variables because you do not > have to save intermediate steps. Once you get used to the idea it is > useful. Note that there is also the |> pipe that is part of base R. As far > as I know it does the same thing as %>%, or at my level of programing I > have not encountered a difference. > > Tim > > -----Original Message----- > From: R-help <r-help-boun...@r-project.org> On Behalf Of Sorkin, John > Sent: Tuesday, January 3, 2023 11:49 AM > To: 'R-help Mailing List' <r-help@r-project.org> > Subject: [R] Pipe operator > > [External Email] > > I am trying to understand the reason for existence of the pipe operator, > %>%, and when one should use it. It is my understanding that the operator > sends the file to the left of the operator to the function immediately to > the right of the operator: > > c(1:10) %>% mean results in a value of 5.5 which is exactly the same as > the result one obtains using the mean function directly, viz. > mean(c(1:10)). What is the reason for having two syntactically different > but semantically identical ways to call a function? Is one more efficient > than the other? Does one use less memory than the other? > > P.S. Please forgive what might seem to be a question with an obvious > answer. I am a programmer dinosaur. I have been programming for more than > 50 years. When I started programming in the 1960s the only pipe one spoke > about was a bong. > > John > > ______________________________________________ > R-help@r-project.org mailing list -- To UNSUBSCRIBE and more, see > > https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstat.ethz.ch%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Fr-help&data=05%7C01%7Cjsorkin%40som.umaryland.edu%7Cdc0d677272114cf6ba2808daedad0ec5%7C717009a620de461a88940312a395cac9%7C0%7C0%7C638083624783034240%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=7dDMSg%2FmPQ5xXP6zu6MWLmARdtdlrYWb3mXPZQj0La0%3D&reserved=0 > PLEASE do read the posting guide > https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.r-project.org%2Fposting-guide.html&data=05%7C01%7Cjsorkin%40som.umaryland.edu%7Cdc0d677272114cf6ba2808daedad0ec5%7C717009a620de461a88940312a395cac9%7C0%7C0%7C638083624783034240%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=l5BZyjup%2Bho%2FijE1zQMxb5JE3F5VfKBZpUKHYW4k4Fg%3D&reserved=0 > and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code. > > ______________________________________________ > R-help@r-project.org mailing list -- To UNSUBSCRIBE and more, see > 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. > [[alternative HTML version deleted]] ______________________________________________ R-help@r-project.org mailing list -- To UNSUBSCRIBE and more, see 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.
