R data structures
There are numerous types of data structures across programming languages, each with strengths and weaknesses suited to specific tasks. Since R is a programming language used widely for statistical data analysis, the data structures it utilizes were designed with this type of work in mind.
The R data structures used most frequently in machine learning are vectors, factors, lists, arrays, matrices, and data frames. Each is tailored to a specific data management task, which makes it important to understand how they will interact in your R project. In the sections that follow, we will review their similarities and differences.
Vectors
The fundamental R data structure is the vector, which stores an ordered set of values called elements. A vector can contain any number of elements. However, all of its elements must be of the same type; for instance, a vector cannot contain both numbers and text. To determine the type of vector v
, use the typeof(v)
command.
Several...