> > It does not remove names in Splus either, just all > other attributes. I see c() used in several Splus > functions as a way to convert a matrix into a vector > (by removing the .Dims and .Dimnames attributes). >
I dont see the logic in certain attribute names (?attr lists 'class', 'comment', 'dim', 'dimnames', 'names', 'row.names' and 'tsp') being 'special'. Why are matrices vectors with some 'magic' attribute 'dim', and possibly some non-magic attributes like 'umbongo' and 'fnord'? I'd have the dim (and other essential properties of data structures) more tightly bound to the data. attr(M,'dim')=NULL seems a very odd way of turning a matrix into a vector. If I was the R bdfl[1] I'd deprecate using 'attr' to access these aspects of data objects and insist on using "dim(M)" or "row.names(M)=foo". Then I can use 'attr' for any old annotations, for example in my light bulb brightness study I could do: sample1 = c(4.2,4.5,4.8,4.1) attr(sample1,'dim') = TRUE sample2 = c(5.6,5.8,6.7,6.5,9.3) attr(sample2,'dim') = FALSE Barry [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benevolent_Dictator_for_Life ______________________________________________ R-devel@r-project.org mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-devel
