Objects in R Language

The post is about objects in R Language. In R, everything is an object. The commands run in a session can be saved or loaded in a file as history. R is an object-oriented programming language where everything you work with is an object. Understanding the R’s Objects system is fundamental to effective data analysis and programming. This guide covers all essential object types with practical examples.

Loading Saved Work

Question 1: How can I retrieve (load) the saved work using the history function in R?
Answer: The loadhistory() function will load an “.Rhistory” file.

loadhistory("d:/file_name.Rhistory")

This function will load the file named “file_name.Rhistory” from the D: drive.

The other way may be to access the “.Rhistory” file through the file menu. For this click File and then Load History. From the dialog box, browse the folder where you saved the “.Rhistory” file and click Open to start working.

Script File in R

Question 2: How do I use a script of commands and functions saved in a text file?
Answer: The script of commands and functions saved in a text file (also called a script file) can be used to write the following command.

source("d:/file_name.txt")

The “file_name.txt” will load from D: drive.

Question 3: How do I get R to echo back the R commands and functions in a script file that I am sourcing into R? That is, the functions that I have written, I want to see these functions are being executed.
Answer: use echo=TRUE argument by using source() function

source("d:/file_name.txt", echo = T)

Question 4: How do I close the help file when working on a Macintosh operating system?
Answer: Typing just q will close the help file and bring you back to the R console.

Objects in R Language: Currently Available Objects

Question 5: How can I see a list of currently available objects in R?
Answer: Use the objects() or ls() functions to see the list of objects currently available

objects()
ls()

Remove Objects and Functions

Question 6: How do I remove/delete unwanted objects and functions?
Answer: The rm() function can be used to delete or remove the objects that are not required. The commands below will delete objects named object_name1 & object_name2 and functions named function_name1 & function_name2.

rm(object_name1, object_names2)
rm(function_name1, function_name2)

Object Inspection and Manipulation

One can check Objects’ Properties in R Language. The following are useful functions for the inspection and manipulation of objects in R:

class(obj)    # Object class
typeof(obj)   # Storage type
str(obj)      # Structure
attributes(obj) # All attributes
names(obj)    # Names of elements
dim(obj)      # Dimensions
length(obj)   # Length/size

Best Practices for Working with Objects in R Language

The following are best practices for working with R’s objects.

1. Always check object structure with str() after creation
2. Use appropriate object types for different data (factors for categories)
3. Be mindful of memory with large objects
4. Name objects descriptively (avoid single letters)
5. Document object structures in complex projects

Conclusion

R’s object system provides powerful and flexible ways to organize and manipulate data. Understanding these object types is crucial for:

• Implementing object-oriented programming patterns
• Efficient data analysis
• Writing reusable code
• Developing packages

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