They can get bitten in the last two lines of this example, where the 'x'
argument is not first:
> d <- data.frame(C1=c(r1=11,r2=21,r3=31), C2=c(12,22,32))
> d[1,1:2]
C1 C2
r1 11 12
> `[`(d,j=1:2,i=1)
C1 C2
r1 11 12
Warning message:
In `[.data.frame`(d, j = 1:2, i = 1) :
named arguments othe
Whenever they are calling a primitive, because primitives match
arguments positionally. Of course, you then you need to introduce the
concept of a primitive.
You could also make an argument from the code clarity perspective, as
typically primitives have simple interfaces and/or are used frequently
tl;dr:
Why are named arguments discouraged in `[.data.frame`, `[<-.data.frame` and
`[[.data.frame`?
(because this question is of the kind 'why is R designed like this?', I though
R-devel would be more appropriate than R-help)
#
Background:
Now and then students pr