> I do not like the R language at all myself, but to be fair there are reasons it is widely used in higher ed.
replyIn the same boat... from a PL perspective, yikes (especially the macro mechanism that somehow never seemed to be planned, but somehow exists). As a working statistician? It really does get work done quickly.
To pass inputs with complex unevaluated syntax, I've seen...
– ad-hoc string parsing (lavaan etc.)
– formulas (which somehow the tidyverse doesn't use),
– base R syntax manipulation by round-tripping between as.list and as.call;
– and whatever wheel reinvention with bizarre semantics that the tidyverse uses.
You can learn about the theory that underlies tidyeval at https://adv-r.hadley.nz/quasiquotation.html. I'd claim that it's neither reinventing the wheel (because it solves problems that the base equivalents do not) nor bizarre (because it is backed by a deep, well-founded theory).
replyI only dipped into it a little bit while helping out a friend. It looked weird to me but I didn't mean to sound so negative. Sorry. I am sure it does get the job done or people wouldn't be using neither R nor the CRAN.
reply