Subject: [R] renaming columns
From: Marc Feldesman (feldesmanm@pdx.edu)
Date: Sun 25 Jun 2000 - 12:07:24 EST
Message-Id: <4.3.2.7.0.20000624185742.00abe730@pop4.ibm.net>
I frequently get data sets with cryptically-named variables. The datasets
are more useful to me with informative variable names. I know that I can
rename variables using the following command:
dimname(dataset[[2]][index.of.variable.to.be.renamed]<-new.variable.name
If I want to do this inside a function (say something I call RenameCol)
what is the best way to communicate the new.variable.name back to the
calling frame (e.g.)
RenameCol<-function(dframe, index, newname)
{
#code to make certain there *are* dimnames
dimname(dframe[[2]][index]<-newname
invisible()
return(dframe)
}
The above code works in both SPlus and R if the call looks like:
dframe<-RenameCol(dframe, 3, "a.new.name")
Is there a better way to return the new variable name without having to
make an explicit assignment at the time of calling RenameCol (i.e. can the
explicit assignment be made more efficiently within the function using
"Assign" or "<<-")?
Be gentle. Although I've used SPlus and now R for more than a year, I've
rarely needed to create functions that change specific attributes of an
object. (I also do not have VR Programming or VR3 at my disposal right now).
Thanks,
===================================================
Dr. Marc R. Feldesman
Professor and Chair
Anthropology Department
Portland State University
Portland, Oregon 97207
email: feldesmanm@pdx.edu
http://odin.pdx.edu/~h1mf
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