[R] Verify that a grid is uniform

[Bert Gunter]

Perhaps ?diff might be useful here:

z <- runif(20)
all(diff(z) == z[2] - z[1] )
## FALSE

z <- seq_len(10)
all(diff(z) == z[2] - z[1] )
##TRUE

You can use signif or round as before to allow for "near uniformity"
or use ?zapsmall or an explicit comparison with a tolerancec instead
of ==, e.g. all(diff(z) - z[2] + z[1] < tol)

Cheers,
Bert

Bert Gunter
Genentech Nonclinical Biostatistics
(650) 467-7374

"Data is not information. Information is not knowledge. And knowledge
is certainly not wisdom."
Clifford Stoll




On Mon, Apr 6, 2015 at 10:11 AM, Marc Lamblin <marcgg.lamblin at gmail.com> wrote:
> The aim is to control if a given abscissa/grid is uniform or not. Abscissa
> in generic vector of real ordered numbers.
>
> Here a reproducibile code:
>
> # uniform abscissa/grid
> abscissa1 <- seq(0, 1, length=100)
> # non-uniform abscissa/grid
> abscissa2 <- sort(runif(100))
>
> control1 <- all(signif(abscissa1[1:(length(abscissa1) - 1) + 1] -
> abscissa1[1:(length(abscissa1) - 1)]) == signif(rep((range(abscissa1)[2] -
> range(abscissa1)[1])/(length(abscissa1) - 1), length(abscissa1) - 1)))
> control2 <- all(signif(abscissa2[1:(length(abscissa2) - 1) + 1] -
> abscissa2[1:(length(abscissa2) - 1)]) == signif(rep((range(abscissa2)[2] -
> range(abscissa2)[1])/(length(abscissa2) - 1), length(abscissa2) - 1)))
>
> control1
> control2
>
> As expected control1 is TRUE and control2 is FALSE. Actually in this code
> it is possible also to use
> diff inside signif.
> Do you mean that the control to perform can be done in this manner
>
> if (length(unique(diff(vec))) == 1) {
>   control <- TRUE
> } else {
>   control <- FALSE
> }
>
> I have tried to apply this control on abscissa1 which is uniform but
> length(unique(diff(abscissa1))) was greater than one; probably, as you
> said, this is due to the fact that in this way I don't take into account
> the machine precision.
> What I want to understand is if there is a SAFE solution, even if until now
> this control is working correctly. I have seen in the documentation of
> signif that by default the number of digits considered are 6. The number of
> digits to consider depends on the scale used. It doesn't make sense to
> increase the number of digits with respect to default because, in this
> case, you are not using an handy scale.
> Maybe it could be better directly to ask user if the abscissa passed as
> argument is uniform or not.
> Thanks a lot for the link!!!
>
> Marc
>
>
>
>
> 2015-04-06 16:32 GMT+02:00 Sarah Goslee <sarah.goslee at gmail.com>:
>
>> Without a reproducible example that includes some sample data (fake is
>> fine), the code you used (NOT in HTML format), and some clear idea of
>> what output you expect, it's impossible to figure out how to help you.
>> Here are some suggestions for creating a good reproducible example:
>>
>> http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5963269/how-to-make-a-great-r-reproducible-example
>>
>> Without knowing what you want, it looks like abscissa is a vector, and
>> so I'm not sure how this defines a grid, but
>> length(unique(diff(vec)))
>> might help. Note that this DOES NOT account for machine precision in any
>> way.
>>
>> Sarah
>>
>> On Mon, Apr 6, 2015 at 7:50 AM, Marc Lamblin <marcgg.lamblin at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> > I need to control of a given grid is uniform. This control using signif
>> > until now works:
>> >
>> > if (all(signif(abscissa[1:(length(abscissa) - 1) + 1] -
>> > abscissa[1:(length(abscissa) - 1)]) == signif(rep((range(abscissa)[2] -
>> >          range(abscissa)[1])/(length(abscissa) - 1), length(abscissa) -
>> > 1)))) {
>> > # other stuff
>> > }
>> >
>> > Does someone have some suggestions to improve this control? Thanks in
>> > advance!! :)
>> >
>> > Marc
>> >
>> >         [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>> >
>>
>>
>> --
>> Sarah Goslee
>> http://www.functionaldiversity.org
>>
>
>         [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>
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