{"id":75016,"date":"2020-01-02T15:15:35","date_gmt":"2020-01-02T09:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techvidvan.com\/tutorials\/?p=75016"},"modified":"2020-01-02T15:15:35","modified_gmt":"2020-01-02T09:45:35","slug":"r-data-structures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techvidvan.com\/tutorials\/r-data-structures\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Inbuilt Data Structures in R with practical examples"},"content":{"rendered":"

In R, most of the time you will be dealing with collections of data and not singular elements. We hold collections of data in data structures.<\/p>\n

Data structures are objects in R that provide a method to arrange data in the desired format.<\/p>\n

In this article, we will take a look at the data structures in R. We will learn what they are, and what are their uses. We will also explore a few features and functions of these structures.<\/p>\n

Let’s start with understanding the basics of data structures.<\/p>\n

Introduction to Data Structures in R<\/h2>\n

R has six types<\/strong> of basic data structures. We can organize these data structures according to their dimensions<\/strong>(1d, 2d, nd). We can also classify them as homogeneous<\/strong> or heterogeneous <\/strong>(can their contents be of different types or not).<\/p>\n

Homogeneous data structures are ones that can only store a single type of data (numeric, integer, character, etc.).<\/p>\n

Heterogeneous data structures are ones that can store more than one type of data at the same time.<\/p>\n

R does not have 0 dimensional or scalar type. Variables containing single values are vectors of length 1.<\/p>\n

We have discussed every concept of R data types<\/a><\/strong> in our previous article, now we are going to understand R data structures in detail.<\/p>\n

R has the following basic data structures:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Vector<\/li>\n
  2. List<\/li>\n
  3. Matrix<\/li>\n
  4. Data frame<\/li>\n
  5. Array<\/li>\n
  6. Factor<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"data<\/a><\/p>\n

    So, let\u2019s not wait anymore and get to it!<\/p>\n

    1. Vectors<\/h3>\n

    Vectors are single-dimensional, homogeneous<\/strong> data structures. To create a vector, use the c() function.<\/p>\n

    For example<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

    > vec <- c(1,2,3) # creates a vector named vec\n> vec<\/pre>\n
    Output<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
    [1] 1 2 3<\/div>\n
    \"vectors<\/a><\/p>\n
    The assign() function is another way to create a vector.<\/p>\n
    For example<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
    > assign(\"vec2\", c(4,5,6))\n> vec2<\/pre>\n
    Output<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
    [1] 4 5 6<\/div>\n
    \"R<\/a><\/p>\n
    Vectors can hold values of a single data type. Thus, they can be numeric, logical, character, integer or complex vectors.<\/p>\n
    For example:<\/strong><\/p>\n
    > numeric_vec <- c(1,2,3,4,5)\n> integer_vec <- c(1L,2L,3L,4L,5L)\n> logical_vec <- c(TRUE, TRUE, FALSE, FALSE, FALSE)\n> complex_vec <- c(12+2i, 3i, 4+1i, 5+12i, 6i)\n> character_vec <- c(\"techvidvan\", \"this\", \"is\", \"a\", \"character vector\")\n> numeric_vec\n> integer_vec\n> logical_vec\n> complex_vec\n> character_vec<\/pre>\n
    Output<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
    \n
    [1] 1 2 3 4 5<\/p>\n
    [1] 1 2 3 4 5<\/p>\n
    [1] TRUE FALSE TRUE FALSE FALSE<\/p>\n
    [1] 12+ 2i 0+ 3i 4+ 1i 5+12i 0+ 6i<\/p>\n
    [1] “techvidvan” “this”
    \n[3] “is” “a”
    \n[5] “character vector”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
    \"vector<\/a><\/p>\n
    The above code will create the following vectors with corresponding values and types.<\/p>\n
    \"vector<\/a><\/p>\n
    Note:<\/strong> Technically, we can store different types of data but R converts the values to maintain the vector\u2019s homogeneous nature. This is called Coercion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
    If you want to implement this example on your own, then I would recommend you to install R<\/a><\/strong><\/em> by our step by step R tutorial.<\/p>\n
    2. Lists<\/h3>\n
    Lists are heterogeneous<\/strong> data structures. They are very similar to vectors except they can store data of different types. To create a list, we use the list() function.<\/p>\n
    For example<\/strong><\/p>\n
    > test_list <- list(1, \"hello\", c(2,3,1), FALSE, 3+4i, 6L)\n> test_list<\/pre>\n
    Output<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
    \n
    [[1]]
    \n[1] 1<\/p>\n
    [[2]]
    \n[1] “hello”<\/p>\n
    [[3]]
    \n[1] 2 3 1<\/p>\n
    [[4]]
    \n[1] FALSE<\/p>\n
    [[5]]
    \n[1] 3+4i<\/p>\n
    [[6]]
    \n[1] 6<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
    \"lists<\/a><\/p>\n
    Lists are often called \u201crecursive vectors<\/strong>\u201d as you can store a list inside another list.<\/p>\n
    Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n
    > test_list2<-list(list(1,\"a\",TRUE), list(\"b\",45L,\"c\"), list(1,2))\n> str(test_list2) #shows the structure of an object<\/pre>\n
    Output<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
    List of 3
    \n$ :List of 3
    \n..$ : num 1
    \n..$ : chr “a”
    \n..$ : logi TRUE
    \n$ :List of 3
    \n..$ : chr “b”
    \n..$ : int 45
    \n..$ : chr “c”
    \n$ :List of 2
    \n..$ : num 1
    \n..$ : num 2<\/div>\n
    \"R<\/a><\/p>\n
    Note: <\/strong>If the c() function has a list as an argument, the result will be a list. Other values inside the c() function will be coerced into lists themselves.<\/p>\n
    3. Matrix<\/h3>\n
    Matrices are two-dimensional, homogeneous<\/strong> data structures. This means that all values in a matrix have to be of the same type. Coercion takes place if there is more than one data type. They have rows and columns.<\/p>\n
    By default, matrices are in column-wise<\/strong> order. The basic syntax to create a matrix is:<\/p>\n
    >matrix( data, nrow, ncol, byrow, dimnames)<\/pre>\n
    Where data<\/strong> is the input values in the matrix given as a vector,<\/p>\n
    nrow<\/strong> is the number of rows,<\/p>\n
    ncol<\/strong> is the number of columns,<\/p>\n
    byrow<\/strong> is a logical which tells the function to arrange the matrix row-wise, by default it is set to FALSE,<\/p>\n
    dimnames<\/strong> is a list of the names of the rows\/columns created.<\/p>\n
    The following code will create a matrix with 3 rows and values 1 to 9 in a column-wise order.<\/p>\n
    For example:<\/strong><\/p>\n
    > test_matrix1 <- matrix(c(1:9), ncol = 3)\n> test_matrix1<\/pre>\n
    Output<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
    \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0[,1] [,2] [,3]
    \n[1,]\u00a0 \u00a01\u00a0 \u00a0 4\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a07
    \n[2,]\u00a0 \u00a02\u00a0 \u00a0 5\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a08
    \n[3,]\u00a0 \u00a03\u00a0 \u00a0 6\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a09<\/div>\n
    \"data<\/a><\/p>\n
    An example of a matrix with row-names and column-names:<\/p>\n
    > rownames <- c(\"row1\", \"row2\", \"row3\")\n> colnames <- c(\"col1\", \"col2\", \"col3\")\n> test_matrix2 <- matrix(c(1:9), ncol = 3, dimnames = list(rownames, colnames))\n> test_matrix2<\/pre>\n
    Output<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
    \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0col1 col2 col3
    \nrow1\u00a0 \u00a01\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a04\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a07
    \nrow2\u00a0 \u00a02\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a05\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a08
    \nrow3\u00a0 \u00a03\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a06\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a09<\/div>\n
    \"data<\/a><\/p>\n
    4. Data Frames<\/h3>\n
    Data frames are two-dimensional, heterogeneous<\/strong> data structures. They are lists of vectors of equal lengths. Data frames have the following constraints placed upon them:<\/p>\n
      \n
    1. A data-frame must have column-names<\/strong> and each row should have a unique name<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    2. Each column should have the same number<\/strong> of items.<\/li>\n
    3. Each item in a single column should be of the same type<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    4. Different columns can have different data types.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      To create a data frame, use the data.frames() function.<\/p>\n
      For example:<\/strong><\/p>\n
      > student_id <- c(1:5)\n> student_name <- c(\"raj\", \"jacob\", \"iqbal\", \"shawn\", \"hitesh\")\n> student_rank <- c(\"third\", \"fifth\", \"second\", \"fourth\", \"first\")\n> student.data <- data.frame(student_id , student_name, student_rank)\n> student.data<\/pre>\n
      Output<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
      \u00a0 \u00a0 student_id\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0student_name\u00a0 \u00a0 student_rank
      \n1\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a01\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 raj\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0third
      \n2\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a02\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 jacob\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0fifth
      \n3\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a03\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 iqbal\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 second
      \n4\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a04\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 shawn\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 fourth
      \n5\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a05\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 hitesh\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0first<\/div>\n
      \"data<\/a><\/p>\n
      5. Arrays<\/h3>\n
      Arrays are three dimensional, homogeneous<\/strong> data structures. They are collections of matrices stacked one on top of the other in layers.<\/p>\n
      You can create an array using the array() function. The following is the syntax of it:<\/p>\n
      Array_name = array(data,dim,dimnames)<\/pre>\n
      Where array_name<\/strong> is the name of the array,<\/p>\n
      data<\/strong> is the data that is filled inside the array,<\/p>\n
      dim<\/strong> is a vector containing the dimensions of the array,<\/p>\n
      and dimnames<\/strong> is a list containing the names of the rows, columns, and matrices inside the array<\/a>.<\/p>\n
      Here is an example<\/strong> of the array() function:<\/p>\n
      > arr1 <- array(c(1:18),dim=c(2,3,3))\n> arr1<\/pre>\n
      Output<\/strong>:<\/p>\n
      , , 1[,1] [,2] [,3]
      \n[1,] 1 3 5
      \n[2,] 2 4 6, , 2[,1] [,2] [,3]
      \n[1,] 7 9 11
      \n[2,] 8 10 12, , 3[,1] [,2] [,3]
      \n[1,] 13 15 17
      \n[2,] 14 16 18<\/div>\n
      \"array<\/a><\/p>\n
      6. Factors<\/h3>\n
      Factors are vectors that can only store predefined values. They are useful for storing categorical data<\/strong>. Factors have two attributes:<\/p>\n