[R] how do I read only specific columns using read.csv or other read function

[Philip James Smith]

Hi R people:

I have huge files with as many as 5000 columns. I'd really like to read 
only certain columns of those files. I know column names I want to read.

I looked at the documentation of read.csv . Although there is a 
col.names option, it allows users to specify the names of the columns, 
rather than to pick the columns of interest.

Any suggestions on how to pick the columns I want to read only, rather 
than the entire file, would be greatly appreciated.

Phil Smith
Duluth, GA