Hi, Earl F. Glynn wrote: > Instead of using "1" or "2" in an "apply", I'll write something like this > trying for some sort of mnemonic > > apply(x, BY.ROW<-1, sum) > or > apply(z, BY.COL<-2, mean) > It think it makes sense to use those "magic numbers" in the given case. Please let me give you several arguments:
- In such a setting, I'd probably also use more mnemonic functions: rowMeans rowSums colMeans colSums - The numbering of the MARGINs (the name of the second argument) is what I remember from maths: 1 is for rows, 2 index is for columns, ... So I don't think the numbering is counter-intuitive. For sure, you have to check the help page at least once. But this is also the case for using mnemonic arguments. - The first argument in apply() is an array which is not restricted to two dimensions. For example, if you are working with three dimension, how would you specify it? BY.LAYER? Maybe, but then four dimensions or five dimensions?[1] Please don't consider this as a personal criticism. I am sure that users' criticism improves R. But using mnemonics instead of the margins in the apply() case is not a convincing example, I think. Maybe you have another example? Best, Roland [1] If you are curious whether there practical applications of four- or fivedimensional arrays, I can write to you off-list how useful they were in real world projects. ______________________________________________ R-help@r-project.org mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
