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Data Package Query

8 messages · Richard M. Heiberger, David L Carlson, Rolf Turner +3 more

David L Carlson
# 
You need to copy the lines you have typed in to R and send them
exactly. The only way I get an error message like the one you
indicate is with the following:
Error in library(data) : there is no package called 'data'
There is no Data function in R so if you typed that you would get
Error: could not find function "Data"

So what did you really type?

-------------------------------------
David L Carlson
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77840-4352

-----Original Message-----
From: r-help-bounces at r-project.org
[mailto:r-help-bounces at r-project.org] On Behalf Of Yasmine Refai
Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2013 3:03 PM
To: r-help at R-project.org
Subject: [R] Data Package Query

Hello,

When i type in the below syntax:
Data (name of the data set)

I get an error message specifying that the "data" package is not
found.

Please note that i installed all packages having the word "data"
included in them and loaded all these packages.

Please advice.

Regards!
______________________________________________
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PLEASE do read the posting guide
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and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
Jeff Newmiller
# 
"data" is a base function (so you should not have to load any packages to use it), and it is not capitalized. Depending on the particular data set you want the data function to load, you may need to load the package that contains that data set.

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. If this is your problem, the best solution is to restart R and do your analysis from the beginning using a different variable name than "data". (This is why keeping your working code in a separate text file is standard operating procedure.)

Note that I am guessing here... the Posting Guide asks you to give a reproducible example so we don't have to guess what you have done.
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                                      Live:   OO#.. Dead: OO#..  Playing
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Yasmine Refai <y_refai at hotmail.com> wrote:

            

      
      
      
    

        

      
      
    

  
  


  


      

    

    

      


  

        

      Yasmine Refai
    

    

      
      #
    

  


  

      
Hello,

When i type in the below syntax:
Data (name of the data set)

I get an error message specifying that the "data" package is not found.

Please note that i installed all packages having the word "data"  included in them and loaded all these packages.

Please advice.

Regards!

  
  


  


    

    

      
      

        


  

        

      Rolf Turner
    

    

      
      #
    

  


  

      
On 28/06/13 04:47, Jeff Newmiller wrote:

        
<SNIP>

            

      
      
      
    

        
<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

  
  


  


      

    

    

      
      

        
      

    

    

      
      

        


  

        

      Jeff Newmiller
    

    

      
      #
    

  


  

      
You need to learn to execute one statement at a time in order to debug this yourself. Copy and paste is your friend. Hint: I already told you that the data function is inappropriate if the data does not come from a package.

You should be learning to use the str(), head(), and ls() functions to explore your R in-memory environment, and use the built-in help system with the question mark ("?str") or the help.search() and RSiteSearch() functions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeff Newmiller                        The     .....       .....  Go Live...
DCN:<jdnewmil at dcn.davis.ca.us>        Basics: ##.#.       ##.#.  Live Go...
                                      Live:   OO#.. Dead: OO#..  Playing
Research Engineer (Solar/Batteries            O.O#.       #.O#.  with
/Software/Embedded Controllers)               .OO#.       .OO#.  rocks...1k
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Sent from my phone. Please excuse my brevity.

        
Yasmine Refai <y_refai at hotmail.com> wrote:

        

            

      
      
      
    

  
  


  


      

    

    

      
      

        


  

        

      John Kane
    

    

      
      #
    

  


  

      
I don't know what you think data(Trial) is doing but what it in fact is doing is trying to load a stored data set called Trial and it does not exist.  Have a look at ?data to see what I mean.

In your program data(Trial) is redundant, well actually closer to meaningless. 

Trial is already loaded since you created it in the read statement

John Kane
Kingston ON Canada

            

      
      
      
    

        

      
      
    

        
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