[R] as.character(quote(x$y) ) = "$" "x" "y" not "x$y"?

[Spencer Graves]

	  "as.character.call" seems not to work as an alias for deparse. 
Consider the following:


xDy <- quote(x$y)
class(xDy)
"call"
as.character.call <- function(x, ...)deparse(x, ...)
as.character(xDy)
[1] "$" "x" "y"
# fails

str(xDy)
#  language x$y
as.character.language <- function(x, ...)"language"

as.character(xDy)
[1] "$" "x" "y"


	  Is it feasible to construct a method for "as.character" that works 
for objects of class "call"?


	  Thanks,
	  Spencer


#################


Thanks for the quick replies from Richard Heiberger, Greg Show & Bert 
Gunter.


       Might it make sense to create as.character.call as an alias for 
deparse?


       A few years ago, I wrote several functions like "predict.fd" as 
aliases for functions with less memorable names like "eval.fd".  Doing 
that made the "fda" package easier to use, at least for me ;-)


       Thanks again,
       Spencer


On 5/7/2014 2:39 PM, Bert Gunter wrote:
> ... and
>
>> str(quote(x$y))
>   language x$y
>
>> as.list(quote(x$y))
> [[1]]
> `$`
>
> [[2]]
> x
>
> [[3]]
> y
>
> ## may be instructive.
>
> Cheers,
> Bert
>
>
>
>
> Bert Gunter
> Genentech Nonclinical Biostatistics
> (650) 467-7374
>
> "Data is not information. Information is not knowledge. And knowledge
> is certainly not wisdom."
> H. Gilbert Welch
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 2:30 PM, Greg Snow <538280 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> deparse(quote(x$y))
>> [1] "x$y"
>>
>> It looks like deparse does what you want here.
>>
>> On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 3:23 PM, Spencer Graves
>> <spencer.graves at structuremonitoring.com> wrote:
>>> Hello, All:
>>>
>>>
>>>        Is there a simple utility someplace to convert "quote(x$y)" to "x$y"?
>>>
>>>
>>>        I ask, because as.character(quote(x$y)) is a character vector of
>>> length 3 =  "$" "x" "y".  I want to convert this to "x$y" for a diagnostic
>>> message.
>>>
>>>
>>>        class(quote(x$y)) = "call", which suggests I could write
>>> "as.character.call" to perform this function.  However, before I do, I felt
>>> a need to ask for other thoughts on this.
>>>
>>>
>>>        Thanks,
>>>        Spencer
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Gregory (Greg) L. Snow Ph.D.
>>> 538280 at gmail.com
>>>
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