is.function & is.primitive Functions in R (2 Examples)
In this R tutorial you’ll learn how to test whether an object is a (primitive) function using the is.function & is.primitive functions.
The content of the post is structured as follows:
Here’s the step-by-step process.
Example 1: Test if Object is Function Using is.function()
Example 1 illustrates how to check whether a data object is a function using the is.function command.
Let’s first create a data object in R:
x <- 1:5 # Create data object x # Print data object # [1] 1 2 3 4 5
The previous output of the RStudio console shows that our data object is an integer vector.
Let’s apply the is.function function to this vector:
is.function(x) # Apply is.function # [1] FALSE
The RStudio console has returned the logical indicator FALSE, i.e. the data object x is not a function.
Let’s apply the is.function command once again to the mean function:
is.function(mean) # Apply is.function # [1] TRUE
This time, the is.function command has returned the logical value TRUE, i.e. mean is a function in R.
Example 2: Test if Object is Primitive Function Using is.primitive()
In this example, I’ll explain how to test if a object is a primitive function.
Let’s apply the is.primitive function to the mean function:
is.primitive(mean) # Apply is.primitive # [1] FALSE
The RStudio console has returned FALSE, i.e. the mean function is not a primitive function.
Let’s apply the is.primitive function once again to the sum function:
is.primitive(sum) # Apply is.primitive # [1] TRUE
As you can see, the sum function is a primitive function.
Video, Further Resources & Summary
Have a look at the following video on my YouTube channel. I show the R programming syntax of this article in the video tutorial.
The YouTube video will be added soon.
Furthermore, you might read some of the other tutorials on https://www.statisticsglobe.com/:
- as.double & is.double Functions in R
- as.name & is.name Functions in R
- as.tbl & is.tbl R Functions of dplyr Package
- List of R Functions (Programming Examples)
- The R Programming Language
Summary: This tutorial has shown how to apply the is.function & is.primitive functions in the R programming language. Let me know in the comments section, in case you have additional questions.
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