[R] Programming objects in R

[Wacek Kusnierczyk]

Tom Backer Johnsen wrote:
> This is interesting.  The fact that there are so few texts on the
> subject probably means that very few are using OO programming methods
> in R.
>
> I will probably look in the Python direction.  Pity.  I would have
> preferred R.
>

if you insist on oo, python might be a better choice.  r has two
built-in oo systems plus a few additional ones in various packages. 

of the two basic ones, s3 is simple to use though some features may
confuse you;  in his The R Inferno [1], Pat Burns calls this system 'a
bit ad hoc'.

the other, s4, is much more complex, probably too complex for its own
developers.  additionally, s3 and s4 intefere with each other in ugly
ways, as some recent posts show.  here's one opinion:

    library(fortunes)
    fortune('handcuff')

if you really have to stay with r, R.oo, for example, might be an
alternative.

you can always access r from within python when statistic computations
are needed, while staying in the cosy realm of a much more coherent
programming language.

vQ

[1] http://www.burns-stat.com/pages/Tutor/R_inferno.pdf


> Tom
>
> krzysztof.sakrejda at gmail.com wrote:
>> I have been using Chambers for the same purpose but I think he
>> focuses too much on discussion and too little on technique.  The book
>> is frustrating to use and I often have to dig to find simple usage
>> cases. .  Unfortunately there seems to be no other book which
>> contains the same info.  I've been hoping O'Reilly puts out an R
>> programming book but nothing yet.
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Krzysztof
>>
>>
>> Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Tom Backer Johnsen <backer at psych.uib.no>
>>
>> Date: Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:31:17 To: <r-help at r-project.org>
>> Subject: [R] Programming objects in R
>>
>>
>> I am planning a project where an object-oriented approach would be
>> appropriate, and for a number of reasons I would prefer using either
>> Python or R.  My problem at the moment is to find out how to do OO
>> programming in R.  Are there any introductory texts anywhere ?
>>
>> Tom