R Programming
Name of the Faculty: Mrs. [Link], Assistant Professor, Department of IT
Subject: R Programming
Year & Semester: III - I
Topic: Functions in R: Syntax and Examples
Conventional Methods: Chalk & Talk
Teaching Methodology: Practical Demonstration
In R Programming, Functions are the programming artifacts that are supported by the R runtime
environment to process the programming logic efficiently. R language supported both native
function syntax to create a custom function and system define functions that do some predefined
task. I explained examples of functions by Practical Demonstration. I explained R program
function and object which takes zero or more parameter, to process some programming
operations and provides the result as the return value. R program function is useful for reusability
and intuitive code writing in R language.
References:
[Link]://[Link]/[Link]
[Link]://[Link]/blog/write-functions-in-r/
Functions in R: Syntax and Examples-
A function is a set of statements organized together to perform a specific task. R has a large
number of in-built functions and the user can create their own functions.
In R, a function is an object so the R interpreter is able to pass control to the function, along with
arguments that may be necessary for the function to accomplish the actions.
The function in turn performs its task and returns control to the interpreter as well as any result
which may be stored in other objects.
Function Definition
An R function is created by using the keyword function. The basic syntax of an R function
definition is as follows −
function_name <- function(arg_1, arg_2, ...) {
Function body
Function Components
The different parts of a function are −
• Function Name − This is the actual name of the function. It is stored in R environment
as an object with this name.
• Arguments − An argument is a placeholder. When a function is invoked, you pass a
value to the argument. Arguments are optional; that is, a function may contain no
arguments. Also arguments can have default values.
• Function Body − The function body contains a collection of statements that defines what
the function does.
• Return Value − The return value of a function is the last expression in the function body
to be evaluated.
R has many in-built functions which can be directly called in the program without defining them
first. We can also create and use our own functions referred as user defined functions.
Built-in Function
Simple examples of in-built functions are seq(), mean(), max(), sum(x) and paste(...) etc. They
are directly called by user written programs..
# Create a sequence of numbers from 32 to 44.
print(seq(32,44))
# Find mean of numbers from 25 to 82.
print(mean(25:82))
# Find sum of numbers frm 41 to 68.
print(sum(41:68))
User-defined Function
We can create user-defined functions in R. They are specific to what a user wants and once
created they can be used like the built-in functions. Below is an example of how a function is
created and used.
# Create a function to print squares of numbers in sequence.
[Link] <- function(a) {
for(i in 1:a) {
b <- i^2
print(b)
Calling a Function
# Create a function to print squares of numbers in sequence.
[Link] <- function(a) {
for(i in 1:a) {
b <- i^2
print(b)
# Call the function [Link] supplying 6 as an argument.
[Link](6)
Lazy Evaluation of Function
Arguments to functions are evaluated lazily, which means so they are evaluated only when
needed by the function body.
# Create a function with arguments.
[Link] <- function(a, b) {
print(a^2)
print(a)
print(b)
# Evaluate the function without supplying one of the arguments.
[Link](6)
Practical Demonstration of R function: