write.table equivalent for lists?

Hi,

If I understood you correctly, you can use saveObject()/loadObject()
from package R.utils, like this:

library(R.utils)
saveObject(x, "x.Rbin")
rm(x)
y <- loadObject("x.Rbin")

HTH,
Ivan

Le 1/10/2011 15:24, Rainer M Krug a ?crit :
Hi

I am writing simulations in R, and quite regularly, I have to save lists
and objects to HDD and load it later again.

So I am wondering: why is there no function to write lists (and S3, S4
objects) onto HDD WITHOUT keeping the name? What I mean is:

For data.frames I can use

x<- data.frame(x = runif(10))
write.table(x, "x.txt)
rm(x)

y<- read.table("x.txt")

to load it into y.

But for lists and S3, S4 objects, I have to use save() and load():

x<- list(x=1:10, y=letters(1:10))
save(x, file="x.rdata")
rm(x)

load("x.rdata") #1
y<- x          #2
rm(x)           #3

to load it into y.
I don't mind the binary of save - what I am really missing is a command
which combines lines #1, #2 and #3.

I know - I could write my own

save.list<- function(x, file) {
   save(s, file=file)
}

load.list<- function(file) {
   load(file)
   return(x)
}

which I could then use as:

x<- list(x=1:10, y=letters(1:10))
save.list(x, "test.rdata")

rm(x)

y<- load.list("test.rdata")

but: why is there not such a function? Am I missing something here?

Cheers,

Rainer

-- Rainer M. Krug, PhD (Conservation Ecology, SUN), MSc (Conservation
Biology, UCT), Dipl. Phys. (Germany)

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