Skip to content

Glossay of available R functions

3 messages · Brian Ripley, Patricia J. Hawkins

Patricia J. Hawkins
# 
JB> In addition, the search page at
JB> http://finzi.psych.upenn.edu

JB> can search all functions of all CRAN packages.

JB> This is also available through

JB> RSiteSearch(string,restrict="functions").

Thank you all!  In fact, what I was looking for was just the glossary
of objects in the base package; the effective equivalent of the Python
Standard Library, or for C, Harbison & Steele's _C, A Reference Manual_.

I assume that's what the original poster wanted too, since he was
commenting that subset was new to him, though he did say "list of
functions in R".  I'd searched through everything _else_ in the help
system looking for such a glossary; I hadn't thought to look under
*Packages*, as those are, of course, add-ons.

So a comment such as "For an index of R basic objects, see the 'base'
package under *Packages*" on the help.start() index page would be
helpful.   Also perhaps a link from the Language Reference Manual,
since that's where I looked first.

By the way, in general the documentation and help facilities are
stellar.
Brian Ripley
#
On Thu, 2 Feb 2006, Patricia J. Hawkins wrote:

            

      
      
      
    

        
Those are misleading analogies (not least because C has an ISO standard 
giving all the functions/macros you can expect to find in C). It is like 
saying you want to know about libc and not libm, despite the latter being 
described in the ISO standard and in Harbison & Steele.

            

      
      
      
    

        
I would assume other people were able to express themselves accurately.

            

      
      
      
    

        
`Of course' is incorrect here.  Everything in R is in a package.

            

      
      
      
    

        
But (as I originally pointed out), that is not a correct interpretation of 
`basic'.  It might have been in R 1.8.0, but the 'base' package is now 
intended to support only some scripting operations (where speed is 
essential so it is minimal).  Unlike Python, R is not primarily a 
scripting language.

The analogue of the Python Standard Library is I think the standard 
packages.

            

      
      
      
    

        

  
    

      
      
    

  


  


      

    

    
2 days later

    

      
      

        


  

        

      Patricia J. Hawkins
    

    

      
      #
    

  


  

          

      
      
      
    

        
PBR> `Of course' is incorrect here.  Everything in R is in a package.

Just my thinking at the time; once I realized that everything in R is
a package, it occurred to me to look under the "packages" heading.
But that was after reading the R Language Reference Manual, and
working through a good bit of the Introduction To R.

            

      
      
      
    

        
PBR> But (as I originally pointed out), that is not a correct
PBR> interpretation of `basic'.  It might have been in R 1.8.0, but
PBR> the 'base' package is now intended to support only some scripting
PBR> operations (where speed is essential so it is minimal).  Unlike
PBR> Python, R is not primarily a scripting language.

Oh -- I understand; thank you.  In retrospect, I was looking for the
things clueless (or cluefull) newcomers should be familiar with before
coming and bothering R-help with clueless newcomer questions.

I didn't mean to try your patience -- just to suggest a couple of
links in the documentation so that well-written information that
exists, and that *ought* to hit newcomers like a brick, would in fact
hit us like a brick.

PBR> The analogue of the Python Standard Library is I think the
PBR> standard packages.

Thank you!  That's helpful.