[R] lme plot

[Peter Dalgaard]

Dieter Menne <dieter.menne at menne-biomed.de> writes:

> getData returns non-null).  The lines I don't understand in plot.lme are 
> 
>             alist <- lapply(as.list(allV), as.name)
>             names(alist) <- allV
> # next line
>             alist <- c(as.list(as.name("data.frame")), alist)
>             mode(alist) <- "call"
>             data <- eval(alist, sys.parent(1))
> 
> This code turn up again and again in nlme, but I admit I don't understand what 
> it means.
> 
> Anybody taking the challenge to dissect it?

Shouldn't be too hard:

allV is a vector of variable names (character vector)
first turn it into a list of R names (a.k.a. symbols)
then add names to the list identical to the original data
stick the symbol data.frame at the beginning and convert to call

This has the net effect that you generate a function call like

  data.frame(age=age, sex=sex, beauty=beauty)

finally, you evaluate that call in the parent frame, in which
presumably age, sex, and beauty will be defined,

-- 
   O__  ---- Peter Dalgaard             Øster Farimagsgade 5, Entr.B
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