[Rd] min/max of a vector with NAs and NaNs

Hervé Pagès hpages at fhcrc.org
Thu Feb 24 02:01:19 CET 2011


I get this (with R-2.12 and R-2.13, didn't try with earlier versions):

 > max(c(NaN, NA))
[1] NA
 > max(c(NA, NaN))
[1] NaN

I get the same thing with min().

The fact that the result of 'max(x)' or 'min(x)' depends on the order
of the elements in 'x' is surprising. It also seems to contradict the
man page:

      By definition the min/max of a numeric vector containing an ‘NaN’
      is ‘NaN’, except that the min/max of any vector containing an ‘NA’
      is ‘NA’ even if it also contains an ‘NaN’.

Cheers,
H.

-- 
Hervé Pagès

Program in Computational Biology
Division of Public Health Sciences
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
1100 Fairview Ave. N, M2-B876
P.O. Box 19024
Seattle, WA 98109-1024

E-mail: hpages at fhcrc.org
Phone:  (206) 667-5791
Fax:    (206) 667-1319



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