R help - Jul 2004 - Nested source()s

I had an error message while running a macro from Yudi Pawitan's web site:

 > source("ex2-13.r")
Error in parse(file, n, text, prompt) : syntax error on line 2

Inspecting ex2-13.r I found that the error was generated by another 
source() command.

Clearly R does not like nested source()s, which is fair enough when you 
think about it. Still it's something that you might want to do. Does 
anyone know how to get achieve the substance of what nested source() 
commands would give you?

Murray Jorgensen

-- 
Dr Murray Jorgensen      http://www.stats.waikato.ac.nz/Staff/maj.html
Department of Statistics, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand
Email: maj at waikato.ac.nz                                Fax 7 838 4155
Phone  +64 7 838 4773 wk    +64 7 849 6486 home    Mobile 021 1395 862

Murray Jorgensen wrote:
> I had an error message while running a macro from Yudi Pawitan's web
site:
> 
>  > source("ex2-13.r")
> Error in parse(file, n, text, prompt) : syntax error on line 2
> 
> Inspecting ex2-13.r I found that the error was generated by another 
> source() command.
> 
> Clearly R does not like nested source()s, which is fair enough when you 
  ^^^^^^^
  |||||||
  Nothing clear about it!
> think about it. Still it's something that you might want to do. Does 
> anyone know how to get achieve the substance of what nested source() 
> commands would give you?
	You're leaping to conclusions, mate.  There is no
	proscription of nested sources in R.  I just checked
	this:  I built a file called ``melvin'':

	x <- 42
	source('clyde')

	and a file called ``clyde'':

	y <- 2*x
	print(y)

	and then executed

	> source('melvin')

	and got

	[1] 84

	OMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

	There is something else wrong in the files that you
	are sourcing.

					cheers,

						Rolf
						rolf at math.unb.ca