[R] Variance for Vector of Constants is Not Zero

[Barry Zajdlik]

Hi All,

An annoying but not critical problem I am having is that the variance of
a vector of constants is reported as > 0. I imagine there is a simple
workaround for the following but could not find it after having spent an
embarrassing amount of time.

In Splus:

> x<-rep(0.02,10)
> var(x)
> 0

In R:

x<-rep(0.02,10)
var(x)
1.337451e-35

I assumed the problem had to do with machine precision and suitably
modified .Machine$double.eps and .Machine$double.neg.eps which I thought
would fix the problem but without success. Any pointers to a solution
would be appreciated!

Cheers,
Barry Zajdlik