String operations in base R in R

Measuring, splitting, and rewriting character vectors.

names <- c("Ada Lovelace", "Grace Hopper")

upper <- toupper(names)
lengths <- nchar(names)
first_five <- substr(names, 1, 5)

parts <- strsplit(names, " ")
surnames <- sapply(parts, `[`, 2)
joined <- paste(names, collapse = "; ")
formatted <- sprintf("%-15s (%d chars)", names, lengths)

found <- grepl("Grace", names)
swapped <- sub("Ada", "A.", names)

How it works

1. nchar, toupper, and substr measure and slice.
2. strsplit splits; paste and sprintf build strings.
3. grepl and sub match and replace by pattern.

Keywords and builtins used here

• c
• grepl
• nchar
• paste
• sapply
• sprintf
• strsplit
• sub
• substr
• toupper

The run, in numbers

Lines

13

Characters to type

354

Tokens

94

Three-star pace

95 tpm

At the three-star pace of 95 tokens a minute, this run takes about 59 seconds.

Type this snippet

Step 1 of 3 in Text & dates, step 17 of 20 in Language basics.

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