| assignOps {base} | R Documentation |
Assign a value to a name.
x <- value
x <<- value
value -> x
value ->> x
x = value
x |
a variable name (possibly quoted). |
value |
a value to be assigned to |
There are three different assignment operators: two of them have leftwards and rightwards forms.
The operators <- and = assign into the
environment in which they are evaluated. The <- can be used
anywhere, but the = is only allowed at the top level (that
is, in the complete expression typed by the user) or as one of the
subexpressions in a braced list of expressions.
The operators <<- and ->> cause a search to made through
the environment for an existing definition of the variable being
assigned. If such a variable is found then its value is redefined,
otherwise assignment takes place globally. Note that their semantics
differ from that in the S language, but is useful in conjunction with
the scoping rules of R.
In all the assignment operator expressions, x can be a name
or an expression defining a part of an object to be replaced (e.g.,
z[[1]]). The name does not need to be quoted, though it can
be.
The leftwards forms of assignment <- = <<- group right to left,
the other from left to right.
value. Thus one can use a <- b <- c <- 6.
assign,
environment.