I'm ramping up on R, and reading http://stuff.mit.edu/afs/sipb/project/r- project/lib/R/library/base/html/Startup.html. I'm probably wrong about this, but ~/.Rprofile seems to serve the same purpose as a .First() function. Why do both exist, and what considerations go into a decision to choose one over the other for startup code?
Hi, On Thursday, April 16, 2015, paul <paul.domaskis at gmail.com> wrote:> I'm ramping up on R, and reading > http://stuff.mit.edu/afs/sipb/project/r- > project/lib/R/library/base/html/Startup.html. > I'm probably wrong about this, but ~/.Rprofile seems to serve the same > purpose as a .First() function. Why do both exist, and what > considerations go into a decision to choose one over the other for > startup code?It's the timing and where the info comes from, as that document explains in great detail. .Rprofile is read on start-up unless R is specifically told to skip it. .First() is sourced after it's loaded, and thus must be loaded from somewhere such as an existing .RData file or a package. ~/.Rprofile is thus most convenient for things you want to have happen in every R session, while .First() is useful for specific sessions loaded from saved objects, or for constructing packages. Though on linux, I use a local .Rprofile if I need per-session options, because I often don't have a saved .RData file. Sarah -- Sarah Goslee http://www.stringpage.com http://www.sarahgoslee.com http://www.functionaldiversity.org [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
Sarah Goslee <sarah.goslee <at> gmail.com> writes: |On Thursday, April 16, 2015, paul <paul.domaskis <at> gmail.com> |wrote: |> I'm ramping up on R, and reading |> http://stuff.mit.edu/afs/sipb/project/r- |> project/lib/R/library/base/html/Startup.html. I'm probably wrong |> about this, but ~/.Rprofile seems to serve the same purpose as a |> .First() function. Why do both exist, and what considerations go |> into a decision to choose one over the other for startup code? | | It's the timing and where the info comes from, as that document | explains in great detail. | | .Rprofile is read on start-up unless R is specifically told to skip | it. | | .First() is sourced after it's loaded, and thus must be loaded from | somewhere such as an existing .RData file or a package. | | ~/.Rprofile is thus most convenient for things you want to have | happen in every R session, while .First() is useful for specific | sessions loaded from saved objects, or for constructing packages. | Though on linux, I use a local .Rprofile if I need per-session | options, because I often don't have a saved .RData file. Thanks, Sarah. Yes, the documentation has a great deal of detail, but I needed was your explanation in the final paragraph of your response.