[Rd] request for use cases for larger integers in R

[iuke-tier@ey m@iii@g oii uiow@@edu]

Thanks for the feedback so far.

Most options we have considered involve having an int64 (i.e. signed)
integer object with the most negative value as the NA
marker.

Alternate strategies for representing NA values are possible, but
would involve much more extensive redesign, both in base R and in
package space. I don't yet see a strong enough case to justify the
cost, but maybe one can be made.

Best,

luke

On Fri, 24 Jul 2026, luke-tierney using uiowa.edu wrote:

> R integers are current limited to a magnitude ot 2^31 - 1. Integer
> values up to a magnitude of 2^53 can be represented exatcly as
> doubles. At times it would be useful to be able to handle larger
> values.
>
> Several options for adding support for large integers to R are under
> consideration, each with advantages and disadvantages. To help with
> deciding how to move forward it would be helpful to have a collection
> of use cases where something is either difficult or impossible to
> achieve with the current R integer representations. Examples would be
> most helpful if they are concrete enough to allow us to build test
> cases.
>
> Thanks,
>
> luke
>
>

-- 
Luke Tierney
Professor Emeritus
Department of Statistics and
    Actuarial Science
University of Iowa
241 Schaeffer Hall                  email:   luke-tierney using uiowa.edu
Iowa City, IA 52242                 WWW:  http://stat.uiowa.edu