| do.call {base} | R Documentation |
do.call constructs and executes a function call from a name or
a function and a list of arguments to be passed to it.
do.call(what, args, quote = FALSE, envir = parent.frame())
what |
either a function or a character string naming the function to be called. |
args |
a list of arguments to the function call. The
names attribute of args gives the argument names. |
quote |
a logical value indicating whether to quote the arguments. |
envir |
an environment within which to evaluate the call. This
will be most useful if what is a character string and
the arguments are symbols or quoted expressions. |
If quote is FALSE, the default, then the arguments are
evaluated (in the calling environment, not envir.). If
quote is TRUE then each argument is quoted (see
quote) so that the effect of argument evaluation is to
remove the quote – leaving the original argument unevaluated when the
call is constructed.
The behavior of some functions, such as substitute,
will not be the same for functions evaluated using do.call as
if they were evaluated from the interpreter. The precise semantics
are currently undefined and subject to change.
The result of the (evaluated) function call.
Becker, R. A., Chambers, J. M. and Wilks, A. R. (1988) The New S Language. Wadsworth & Brooks/Cole.
call which creates an unevaluated call.
do.call("complex", list(imag = 1:3))
## if we already have a list (e.g. a data frame)
## we need c() to add further arguments
tmp <- expand.grid(letters[1:2], 1:3, c("+", "-"))
do.call("paste", c(tmp, sep=""))
do.call(paste, list(as.name("A"), as.name("B")), quote=TRUE)
## examples of where objects will be found.
A <- 2
f <- function(x) print(x^2)
env <- new.env()
assign("A", 10, envir = env)
assign("f", f, envir = env)
f <- function(x) print(x)
f(A) # 2
do.call("f", list(A)) # 2
do.call("f", list(A), envir=env) # 4
do.call(f, list(A), envir=env) # 2
do.call("f", list(quote(A)), envir=env) # 100
do.call(f, list(quote(A)), envir=env) # 10
do.call("f", list(as.name("A")), envir=env) # 100
eval(call("f", A)) # 2
eval(call("f", quote(A))) # 2
eval(call("f", A), envir=env) # 4
eval(call("f", quote(A)), envir=env) # 100