R Programming Intermediate: Object Oriented Programming

Name: R Programming Intermediate: Object Oriented Programming
Author: Tom Rosenwinkel

Learn how to create classes of objects for use in R code

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Course: On-Demand

Hello, my name is Tom Rosenwinkle. In this series of lessons, we are going to see object oriented R programming. And there will be three main types of objects that we will see. The S3 objects, R6 objects, and S4 objects. Because there are so many different types of objects in R with different object oriented methods and classes. For this lesson, we're going to use a package called Sloop, which will help us to understand first of all, when we find an object, what type of object is it? So remember, I'm working in RStudio. And when working in R, you will first need to install a package. And RStudio has a function to find and install a package by running the install.packages command. And then once the package is installed, you need to source it in your environment. The Sloop package has a function called OType, that tells us the object type that we pass to it. So a sequence of integers one through 10 is a base object type. The empty cars data frame, which comes with R, is an S3 object type, an MLE object that we can create with the stats for package. That is an example of an S4 object. We can get some information about an object by looking at the class attribute. If I look at the class attribute for a base object, like just the sequence of integers one to 10, there is nothing set, whereas for an S3 object, the class attribute is set. It has a value called data.frame. For different classes of objects, that is less consistent. And so there is a function in R that is very commonly used, but it's not always so reliable. It's the class function. If I look at the class of a matrix, for instance, it returns matrix and array. And so we might think that matrix is a subclass and the object is from the array class. But when we look at the attributes, we still see that there is nothing set in the class attribute. When we look at the object type, it is a base object. The sloop package has a function called S3 class that gives us a little bit better of a picture of the class of an object, even if it is of base type or not the S3 type, than just looking at the class parameter. So with the S3 class function from the sloop package, we see that a matrix is a matrix class and an integer class, and even underneath that, a numeric class. In the next lesson, we're going to look at S3 classes in more detail. We will see they are the most basic classes that will allow us to form objects with methods in R. Thank you for watching.

Intermediate Provider : Tom Rosenwinkel 8 Lessons · 53m in English

Course Description

How can you create custom objects in R code? How do you bind attributes or methods to objects in R? The R programming language provides several different types of classes, each with their own answers to these questions. These include S3 classes, R6 classes, and S4 classes. Learning functional object-oriented concepts in general is essential to understanding the correct class structures to apply to create the custom objects needed for your R projects. The topics discussed in these lessons will build on your understanding of functional programming in R and provide a foundation for writing object-oriented code in R.

In these lessons on object-oriented programming, you will learn functional object-oriented programming in R. We will explore S3 classes, R6 classes, and S4 classes. By the end of these lessons, you will be able to create classes from any of these types that can be used in your own R projects or available for others to use.

What You'll Learn

Describe the basic object-oriented concepts implemented in S3 class structures, including S3 methods and inheritance
Explain how to bind attributes and methods in R6 classes, including private and active fields
Explore best practices for creating S4 classes and controlling access to slots
Apply S4 class methods and method dispatch in R
Use the Sloop package to support functional object-oriented programming in R
Create custom classes from S3, R6, and S4 types for use in your own R projects or by others

Key Takeaways

R provides several types of classes for object-oriented programming, including S3, R6, and S4 classes.
Learning functional object-oriented concepts helps you apply the correct class structures when creating custom objects in R.
These lessons build on functional programming in R and provide a foundation for writing object-oriented code.
By the end of the lessons, you can create classes from S3, R6, or S4 types for your own projects or for others to use.
The course covers binding attributes and methods to objects and controlling access to slots in S4 classes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this course cover?

It covers functional object-oriented programming in R, exploring S3 classes, R6 classes, and S4 classes, including topics such as the Sloop package, S3 methods and inheritance, R6 methods and references, R6 private and active fields, and S4 class methods and dispatch.

What will I be able to do after completing these lessons?

You will be able to create classes from S3, R6, or S4 types that can be used in your own R projects or made available for others to use.

Is there any recommended background for this course?

The lessons build on your understanding of functional programming in R, which provides a foundation for writing object-oriented code in R.

What skills does this course focus on?

It focuses on Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), creating custom components, and data binding in R.

Which R class types are explained in this course?

The course explains S3 classes, R6 classes, and S4 classes, each with their own approach to creating custom objects and binding attributes or methods.