I have never used -> but I noticed at http://github.com/jiho/r-utils/blob/master/beamer_colors.R that some people do. In fact, the above-named code has a sort of elegance about it (except for the use of "=" for assignment...). To my eye, -> calls to mind a type of assignment that is meant to stand out. For example, perhaps it would make sense to use -> to assign to things that are not expected to vary through the rest of the code block. Q1: is there a convention, informal or otherwise, on when to use the -> operator? Q2: if there is no convention, but if people think a convention might help, what would that convention be? Dan Kelley, PhD Professor and Graduate Coordinator Dept. Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax NS B3H 4J1 kelley.dan@gmail.com (1-minute path on US server) or Dan.Kelley@Dal.Ca (2-hour path on Cdn server) Phone 902 494 1694; Fax 902 494 3877 [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
On 18/03/2010 7:08 AM, Dan Kelley wrote:> I have never used -> but I noticed at > > http://github.com/jiho/r-utils/blob/master/beamer_colors.R > > that some people do. In fact, the above-named code has a sort of elegance about it (except for the use of "=" for assignment...). To my eye, -> calls to mind a type of assignment that is meant to stand out. For example, perhaps it would make sense to use -> to assign to things that are not expected to vary through the rest of the code block. > > Q1: is there a convention, informal or otherwise, on when to use the -> operator?My recommendation would be "never". It's rarely used and unnecessary, so you'll just confuse people. It also looks identical to the -> operator in C for pointing to a member of a structure, another cause for confusion for some people. Duncan Murdoch> > Q2: if there is no convention, but if people think a convention might help, what would that convention be? > > Dan Kelley, PhD > Professor and Graduate Coordinator > Dept. Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax NS B3H 4J1 > kelley.dan at gmail.com (1-minute path on US server) or Dan.Kelley at Dal.Ca (2-hour path on Cdn server) > Phone 902 494 1694; Fax 902 494 3877 > > > > > > > > > [[alternative HTML version deleted]] > > ______________________________________________ > R-help at r-project.org mailing list > https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help > PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html > and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
-> is usually only used when you suddenly remember you wanted to keep result of a computation, especially in the days before command-line editors were universal. fn(a,b) ... oh I'd better keep that ... -> z On Thu, 18 Mar 2010, Dan Kelley wrote:> I have never used -> but I noticed at > > http://github.com/jiho/r-utils/blob/master/beamer_colors.R > > that some people do.> In fact, the above-named code has a sort of elegance about it(except for the use of "=" for assignment...). To my eye, -> calls to mind a type of assignment that is meant to stand out. For example, perhaps it would make sense to use -> to assign to things that are not expected to vary through the rest of the code block.> > Q1: is there a convention, informal or otherwise, on when to use the -> operator? > > Q2: if there is no convention, but if people think a convention might help, what would that convention be? > > Dan Kelley, PhD > Professor and Graduate Coordinator > Dept. Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax NS B3H 4J1 > kelley.dan at gmail.com (1-minute path on US server) or Dan.Kelley at Dal.Ca (2-hour path on Cdn server) > Phone 902 494 1694; Fax 902 494 3877 > > > > > > > > > [[alternative HTML version deleted]] > > ______________________________________________ > R-help at r-project.org mailing list > https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help > PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html > and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code. >-- Brian D. Ripley, ripley at stats.ox.ac.uk Professor of Applied Statistics, http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~ripley/ University of Oxford, Tel: +44 1865 272861 (self) 1 South Parks Road, +44 1865 272866 (PA) Oxford OX1 3TG, UK Fax: +44 1865 272595