R help - Mar 2007 - Rownames are always character?

Gurus,

Can I rely on the rownames() function, when applied to a matrix,
always returning either NULL or an object of type character?  It
seems that row names can be entered as integers, but as of now
(R 2.4.1 on Windows) the function returns character vectors, not
numbers (which is my desired result).

I am using elements of the returned vector to index the matrix.
e.g.,

nams <- rownames(mymat)
for (thisnam in nams) {
	myvec <- mymat[thisnam, ]
	# ... more code ...
}


-- 
Mike Prager, NOAA, Beaufort, NC
* Opinions expressed are personal and not represented otherwise.
* Any use of tradenames does not constitute a NOAA endorsement.

Mike Prager <mike.prager at noaa.gov> wrote:
> Gurus,
> 
> Can I rely on the rownames() function, when applied to a matrix,
> always returning either NULL or an object of type character?  It
> seems that row names can be entered as integers, but as of now
> (R 2.4.1 on Windows) the function returns character vectors, not
> numbers (which is my desired result).
(To clarify my point on this Friday afternoon:  the observed
behavior is my desired result.  I'm just asking, can I count on
it?)
> I am using elements of the returned vector to index the matrix.
> e.g.,
> 
> nams <- rownames(mymat)
> for (thisnam in nams) {
> 	myvec <- mymat[thisnam, ]
> 	# ... more code ...
> }
-- 
Mike Prager, NOAA, Beaufort, NC
* Opinions expressed are personal and not represented otherwise.
* Any use of tradenames does not constitute a NOAA endorsement.