How to use the R environment and the globalenv() function

user_17184878 0
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I'm currently reading Hands-On Programming With R and the author first suggests this code to deal cards from the top of a deck:

deal <- function(deck) {
deck[1,]}

but that code has an obvious problem: you'll always get the same card, since the function does not remove the card from the deck after it has been dealt.

As a solution, he suggests this code:

deal <- function(){
  card <- deck[1,]
  assign("deck", deck[-1,], envir = globalenv())
  card

I feel like I don't properly understand what's going on with the envir = globalenv() part. I do know that it has something to do with removing the card that has been dealt from the deck, but can someone please elucidate what is happening there exactly?

scoping environment storage r environment-variables
2 Answers

Your card deck is stored in a vector deck in your Global Environment.

deal <- function(){
  card <- deck[1,]
  assign("deck", deck[-1,], envir = globalenv())
  card
}

Each function call creates it's own environment, an object assigned inside a function "lives" just inside of it. That's why you don't "see" a vector named card in your Global Environment (unless you created one before, but this vector is uneffected by deal functions card <- deck[1,] statement).

So assign("deck", deck[-1]) (without the envir argument) would be the same as

deal <- function(){
  card <- deck[1,]
  deck <- deck[-1,]
  card
}

but this won't change your deck outside the function. The vector deck inside the function just exists inside the function. To change the deck outside the function, you have to tell R where to change it. So that's why assign("deck", deck[-1,], envir = globalenv()) is used.

So let's start over with your function deal:

card <- deck[1,]

assigns the first element of deck to card. But wait! deck doesn't exists inside the function? So how is this possible? If the object isn't found inside the function, R looks one level up, in your case most likely the Global Environment. So there R finds an object/vector named deck and does the assignment. Now we have an object/vector named card that exists inside the function.

For further understanding, take a look at Chapter 6: Functions in Advanced R.

user_125052510

Reading more about the globalenv and assign functions, I came across some key information:

  • envir is the argument that determines what environment to use
  • the globalenv function simply gives us acess to the global environment
  • runtime environment is the

hardware and software infrastructure that supports the running of a particular codebase in real time

  • Global Environment is

the interactive workspace [...] in which you normally work

With that in mind, I translated the code to:

R, create a deal function, in which you'll first:

  1. Create an object called card - and it's value will be the first row of the object deck
  2. Remove that first row of the object deck - not only from the runtime environment, but from the global environment
  3. Return the value of the object card
user_171848780
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