R devel - Mar 2024 - capture "->"

That would have been an elegant solution, but it doesn't seem to work:
> `->` <- `+`
> 1 -> 3 # expecting 4
Error in 3 <- 1 : invalid (do_set) left-hand side to assignment

It is possible to reassign other multiple character
operators:
> `%%` <- `+`
> 1 %% 3
[1] 4

The assignment operator `->` is so special for the R parser, that it seems
impossible to change.

On Fri, Mar 1, 2024 at 11:30?PM <avi.e.gross at gmail.com> wrote:
> Adrian,
>
> That is indeed a specialized need albeit not necessarily one that cannot
> be done by requiring an alternate way of typing a formula that avoids being
> something the parser sees as needed to do at that level.
>
> In this case, my other questions become moot as I assume the global
> assignment operator and somethings like assign(?xyz?, 5) will not be in the
> way.
>
> What I was wondering about is what happens if you temporarily disable the
> meaning of the assignment operator <- and turn it back on after.
>
> In the following code, for no reason, I redefine + to mean ? and then undo
> it:
>
>
> > temp <- `+`
> > `+` <- `-`
> > 5 + 3
> [1] 2
> > `+` <- temp
> > 5 + 3
> [1] 8
>
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You can't change the parser.  Changes like `+` <- `-` change the 
function that is called when the expression contains a function call to 
`+`; this happens in `eval()`, not in `parse()`.  There are never any 
function calls to `->`, because the parser outputs a call to `<-` with 
the operands reversed when it sees that token.

Duncan Murdoch

On 02/03/2024 6:06 a.m., Adrian Du?a wrote:
> That would have been an elegant solution, but it doesn't seem to work:
> 
>> `->` <- `+`
>> 1 -> 3 # expecting 4
> Error in 3 <- 1 : invalid (do_set) left-hand side to assignment
> 
> It is possible to reassign other multiple character operators:
>> `%%` <- `+`
>> 1 %% 3
> [1] 4
> 
> The assignment operator `->` is so special for the R parser, that it
seems
> impossible to change.
> 
> On Fri, Mar 1, 2024 at 11:30?PM <avi.e.gross at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Adrian,
>>
>> That is indeed a specialized need albeit not necessarily one that
cannot
>> be done by requiring an alternate way of typing a formula that avoids
being
>> something the parser sees as needed to do at that level.
>>
>> In this case, my other questions become moot as I assume the global
>> assignment operator and somethings like assign(?xyz?, 5) will not be in
the
>> way.
>>
>> What I was wondering about is what happens if you temporarily disable
the
>> meaning of the assignment operator <- and turn it back on after.
>>
>> In the following code, for no reason, I redefine + to mean ? and then
undo
>> it:
>>
>>
>>> temp <- `+`
>>> `+` <- `-`
>>> 5 + 3
>> [1] 2
>>> `+` <- temp
>>> 5 + 3
>> [1] 8
>>
> 
> 	[[alternative HTML version deleted]]
> 
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