[R] updating n within for(i in 1:n) loop

[Prasad, Rajiv]

Hi folks:

I think I'm having problems with figuring this one out:

test1 <- function()
{
  n <- 2

  for(i in 1:n)
  {
    cat(paste("i =", i, "\n")); flush.console()
    n <- 5  # version 1
    #n <<- 5  # version 2
    #assign("n", 5, envir = environment(test1))  # version 3
  }
}

I need the for(.) loop to run (say) n=5 times within the function, but I do
not know that before the loop begins.  In other words, n is to be updated
during computations within the for(.) loop.  This code prints "i = 1" and "i
= 2" only.  If I modify test1(.) to use version 2 or version 3 of the
assignment, there is no change to the output, and I end up with an "n" in
the parent environment with value 5.  So the problem is to assign 5 to n in
the calling environment of the for(.) loop??  (I'm sure my terminology is
quite mixed up here -- please feel free to comment.)

How do I do this?

Thanks in advance.

> version
         _              
platform i386-pc-mingw32
arch     i386           
os       mingw32        
system   i386, mingw32  
status                  
major    1              
minor    5.1            
year     2002           
month    06             
day      17             
language R              


Rajiv
--------
Rajiv Prasad
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Hydrology Group
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, MSIN K9-33
Richland, WA 99352
Voice: (509) 375-2096  Fax: (509) 372-6089  Email: rajiv.prasad at pnl.gov

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