R help - Apr 2004 - Help with character columns in a table

I have done a read.table on a data file with the aim of extracting
subsets of the data eg

    table[table$desc = 'result1',]

How can I convert $desc to a character type? At present it is seen by
typeof() as an integer.

How can I do the equivalent of 

    table[table$desc = 'result1' && table$amt > 20, ]

Thanks,
Rory

-- 
Rory Campbell-Lange 
<rory at campbell-lange.net>
<www.campbell-lange.net>

By default, read.table & friends reads character columns in as factors.
Other options are documented in ?read.table.

If you _really_ want to convert the column to characters, use something
like:

    table$desc <- as.character(table$desc)

Two more things:

- You probably meant `==' instead of `=', and that should work even
without
converting to characters.

- You should avoid using `table' as an object name, because that's also
the
name of a built-in function.

HTH,
Andy
> From: Rory Campbell-Lange
> 
> I have done a read.table on a data file with the aim of extracting
> subsets of the data eg
> 
>     table[table$desc = 'result1',]
> 
> How can I convert $desc to a character type? At present it is seen by
> typeof() as an integer.
> 
> How can I do the equivalent of 
> 
>     table[table$desc = 'result1' && table$amt > 20, ]
> 
> Thanks,
> Rory
> 
> -- 
> Rory Campbell-Lange 
> <rory at campbell-lange.net>
> <www.campbell-lange.net>
> 
> ______________________________________________
> R-help at stat.math.ethz.ch mailing list
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> PLEASE do read the posting guide! 
> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> 
> 

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You could set `as.is = TRUE' when running read.table(), as the help 
page says.

-roger

Rory Campbell-Lange wrote:
> I have done a read.table on a data file with the aim of extracting
> subsets of the data eg
> 
>     table[table$desc = 'result1',]
> 
> How can I convert $desc to a character type? At present it is seen by
> typeof() as an integer.
> 
> How can I do the equivalent of 
> 
>     table[table$desc = 'result1' && table$amt > 20, ]
> 
> Thanks,
> Rory
>