[R] Meaning of following function

[Joshua Wiley]

On Sun, Aug 1, 2010 at 7:56 AM, Ron Michael <ron_michael70 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Hi friends, I am aware of the function "-"() which acts as minus in ordinary computations. For example:
>
>> "-"(3, 1)
> [1] 2
>
> However what is the meaning of
>> "-"(3)
> [1] -3

This seems quite functionally useful; consider the behavior of some of
the other operators:

>  - 3
[1] -3
> --3
[1] 3
> +3
[1] 3
> /3
Error: unexpected '/' in "/"
> *3
Error: unexpected '*' in "*"

'-' and '+' taking one argument is rather convenient.

>
> I was expecting R to generate some error as it does for "*"(3). What is the logic for that calculation?
>
> Thanks,
>
>
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>
>
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-- 
Joshua Wiley
Ph.D. Student, Health Psychology
University of California, Los Angeles
http://www.joshuawiley.com/