Learn How to Create User Defined Functions in R

Introduction to User Defined Functions in R

One can create user defined functions in R Language easily. User-defined functions allow to write/create custom blocks of code to be reused throughout the analysis. The article presents some useful examples of how to write user defined functions in R Language. R language helps to create much more efficient and possibly elegant coding.

Assigning Function to a Variable

Example 1: Create a simple function and assign the function to a variable name as we do with any other objects.

f <- function(x, y = 0){
		z <- x + y
		z
}

x = rnorm(10)
f(x + y)

Regression Coefficients

Example 2: Given $n\times 1$ vector of $y$ and matrix of $X$ the $\hat{\beta}=E[X|y] = (X’X)^{-1}X’y$, where $(X’X)^{-1}$ is generalized invers of $X’X$.

Beta <- function(x, y){
		X <- qr(x)
		qr.coef(X, y)
	}

attach(mtcars)
xmat = cbind(1, hp, wt)
yvar = mpg
regcoef <- Beta(xmat, yvar)

The qr() function computes the QR decomposition of a matrix. The QR decomposition if used to solve the equation $Ax=b$ for a given matrix $A$, and vector $b$. It is very useful in computing regression coefficients and in applying Newton Raphson’s algorithm.

Removing all Objects from globalenv

Example 3: Create a function capable of removing all objects from the globalenv.

clear <- function(env = globalenv() ){
		obj = ls(envir = env)
		rm(list = obj, envir = env)
}

The clear() function removes all objects from a specified environment and seems to work correctly. However, the clear() function detects also itself and as a result, it cannot be reused without redefining the function again.

The clear() function can be improved to keep the function clear() when all other objects are deleted.

clear <- function(env = globalenv()){
		objects <- objects(env)
		objects <- objects[objects != "clear"]
		rm(list = objects, envir = env)
		invisible(NULL)
	}

Computing Measure of Central Tendency

Example 4: Create a function that can compute some basic Measure of Central Tendency.

center = function(x, type){
	switch(type, 
		mean = mean(x),
		median = median(x),
		trimmed = mean(x, trim = 0.1))
}

attach(airquality)
center(Temp, "mean")     # for calcualtion of mean
center(Temp, "median")   # for calculation of median
center(Temp, "trimmed")  # for calculation of trimmed mean

Note that the user-defined functions in R can incorporate conditional statements, loops, and other functionalities to perform more advanced tasks. They can also have default parameter values for added flexibility.

https://itfeature.com

https://gmstat.com