Renaming variables
Hi: names() typically has to do with the names associated with *components* of a data frame or list, which appears to be what you have, reading between the lines. Here's a toy example:
mydf <- data.frame(a = rnorm(5)) mydf
a 1 1.291952883 2 -0.136706733 3 0.219528682 4 -0.174832617 5 -0.003101679
names(mydf) <- 'b'
## b is a variable name within the data frame mydf, not the global environment:
b
Error: object 'b' not found
mydf$b ## or equivalentally/preferably, mydf[['b']]
[1] 1.291952883 -0.136706733 0.219528682 -0.174832617 -0.003101679
mydf
b 1 1.291952883 2 -0.136706733 3 0.219528682 ... # OTOH,
b <- mydf b
b 1 1.291952883 2 -0.136706733 3 0.219528682 ... so by assigning mydf to an object named b, you can change the name of mydf. Note, however, that mydf still exists; b is a copy of mydf. rm(mydf) would remove the original in favor of the newly named copy. HTH, Dennis
On Tue, Jun 14, 2011 at 4:04 AM, mosojn <marta.osojnik at gmail.com> wrote:
Hi guys, I checked previous posts and I saw similar questions have been answered; they didn't help me solve my problem though. I am using R version 2.13.0 (2011-04-13), Platform: x86_64-pc-mingw32/x64 (64-bit) and I am having difficulties renaming variables. I tried with this command: names (oldvariable) <- 'new_variable' and now when I type in oldvariable the new name pops out in form: [1] "new_variable" BUT when I try typing in new_variable I get the message Error: object 'new_variable' not found I also tried with fix(mydata) command, but editor basically opens up empty, so I don't understand why this is happening. If you know how to advise me, I'll be grateful. Thank you! Marta -- View this message in context: http://r.789695.n4.nabble.com/Renaming-variables-tp3596227p3596227.html Sent from the R help mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
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