R Error: Object of Type Closure is not Subsettable in R (2 Examples)

In this tutorial, I’ll show how to fix the error object of type ‘closure’ is not subsettable in the R programming language.

The content of the post looks as follows:

Here’s the step-by-step process!

Example 1: Reproducing & Solving the Error: Object of Type ‘Closure’ is not Subsettable

First, let’s reproduce the error message object of type ‘closure’ is not subsettable in R. For this example, I’m using the ncol function:

ncol[1]           # Wrong application of ncol function
# Error in ncol[1] : object of type 'closure' is not subsettable

After executing the previous R code, the RStudio console returns the error object of type ‘closure’ is not subsettable. So what did we do wrong?

Typically, this error message appears when we are trying to subset functions in R (i.e. with [1]).

Functions are properly applied with round parentheses. See the example below:

ncol(iris)        # Applying ncol to iris data set
# 5

Example 2: Related Error Messages: Builtin & Special

The R programming language has a few related error messages. The error message object of type ‘builtin’ is not subsettable occurs when we are trying to subset a builtin function…

sum[1]            # Wrong application of sum function
# Error in sum[1] : object of type 'builtin' is not subsettable

…and the error message object of type ‘special’ is not subsettable appears when we are trying to subset statements such as the if-statement:

`if`[1]           # Wrong application of if-statement
# Error in `if`[1] : object of type 'special' is not subsettable

However, the general reason is usually the same. We can fix this error by using round parentheses behind the function names.

Note that the functions used in this tutorial were only used to exemplify the general problem of the error message object of type ‘closure’ is not subsettable. The same principles can be applied to this error message when it appears in combination with other functions such as mean, sum, nrow, dim, cumsum, sample, data.frame, and so on…

Video & Further Resources

Do you need further explanations on the R syntax of this tutorial? Then you could watch the following video of my YouTube channel. I illustrate the R codes of this article in the video.

Additionally, you may read the related articles that I have published on my website. A selection of articles on related topics can be found below.

• Error: Coerce List Object to Type Double
• Check if Object is Defined (exists in R)
• R Programming Overview

In this tutorial you learned how to handle the error message object of type ‘closure’ is not subsettable in the R programming language. If you have additional questions, let me know in the comments.