In R, functions are defined with a set of arguments. Arguments are the pieces of information that a function needs to do its work. They can be numbers, strings, vectors, lists, or even other functions.
When you call a function, you pass the values of the arguments to the function. The function then uses these values to do its work.
For example, the following code defines a function called `add()` that adds two numbers together:
add <- function(x, y) {
z <- x + y
return(z)
}
The `add()` function has two arguments: `x` and `y`. These arguments are the numbers that the `add()` function needs to add together.
To call the `add()` function, you would pass the values of the arguments to the function. For example, the following code calls the `add()` function and passes the values 1 and 2 to the function:
z <- add(1, 2)
The `add()` function then adds the values 1 and 2 together and stores the result in the variable `z`.
Different types of arguments that can be passed to a function in R
- Numeric arguments: These arguments are numbers. For example, the argument `x` in the `add()` function is a numeric argument.
- String arguments: These arguments are strings of text. For example, the argument `name` in the `greet()` function is a string argument.
- Vector arguments: These arguments are vectors of data. For example, the argument `data` in the `mean()` function is a vector argument.
- List arguments: These arguments are lists of data. For example, the argument `args` in the `paste()` function is a list argument.
- Function arguments: These arguments are functions. For example, the argument `f` in the `apply()` function is a function argument.
The type of argument that a function takes determines how the argument is used by the function. For example, a numeric argument is used to store a number, a string argument is used to store a string of text, and a vector argument is used to store a vector of data.
It is important to remember that the order of the arguments in a function definition is important. The first argument in the definition is the first argument that is passed to the function when the function is called, and so on.
