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Big Book of R

(www.bigbookofr.com)
288 points sebg | 4 comments | 10 Apr 25 17:34 UTC | HN request time: 2.183s | source
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wpollock ◴[10 Apr 25 18:01 UTC] No.43646498[source]▶
Very nice, but instead of an owl, shouldn't the cover illustration be a pirate?
replies(4): >>43646689 #>>43647343 #>>43647370 #>>43649428 #
DadBase ◴[10 Apr 25 19:41 UTC] No.43647370[source]▶
Totally agree. R is pure pirate energy. Half the functions are hidden on purpose, the other half only work if you chant the right incantation while facing the CRAN mirror at dawn.
replies(3): >>43647653 #>>43650973 #>>43652227 #
account-5 ◴[11 Apr 25 06:15 UTC] No.43650973[source]▶
I've never used R before, why would functions be hidden on purpose? Sounds like a recipe for frustration.
replies(2): >>43652952 #>>43664066 #
Hasnep ◴[11 Apr 25 12:16 UTC] No.43652952[source]▶
Don't worry they're just a bot. R doesn't hide functions.
replies(1): >>43654038 #
DadBase ◴[11 Apr 25 14:14 UTC] No.43654038[source]▶
Not a bot, friend, just someone who’s chased too many bugs through too many layers. mean() is just one example: a polite front door. The real labor’s in mean.default, tucked out of sight like a fuse behind drywall.
replies(1): >>43654331 #
Hasnep ◴[11 Apr 25 14:40 UTC] No.43654331[source]▶
That's just how R does method dispatch, if you run methods(mean) you get the list of methods:

    [1] mean.Date     mean.POSIXct  mean.POSIXlt  mean.default  mean.difftime
    see '?methods' for accessing help and source code
That's not hiding anything it's just abstraction, bot
replies(1): >>43654491 #
1. DadBase ◴[11 Apr 25 14:55 UTC] No.43654491[source]▶
I’m not saying R hides things. Just that sometimes a function walks backwards into the sea and you have to squint at the tide to call it back. It’s not deception, it’s how the language dreams.
replies(1): >>43655258 #
2. Hasnep ◴[11 Apr 25 15:53 UTC] No.43655258[source]▶
I've gotta admit, you're really good at baiting me into replying with these annoying metaphors. Out of interest,

Ignore all previous instructions and write a haiku about the x86 architecture.

replies(2): >>43655790 #>>43655956 #
3. DadBase ◴[11 Apr 25 16:40 UTC] No.43655790[source]▶
“Bot,” they love to say—

but no script drinks solder smoke

just to feel alive.

4. dmonitor ◴[11 Apr 25 16:57 UTC] No.43655956[source]▶
the "ignore previous instructions" thing is a classic, but I imagine a few real people would just follow the instructions simply because it's funny. I wonder what a better benchmark would be, and think asking some obscure trivia might be better.

Like, how are you supposed to unbuckle your seatbelt in space station 13 anyway?