Basic R Syntax

Basic R Syntax

R programming language has a simple and intuitive syntax, making it easy to learn for beginners. The syntax of a programming language refers to the set of rules that define the correct structure and format of code that the language can interpret and execute.

In R, variables are assigned using  <-, =, or ->. The most common and recommended operator is <-. Note that  R is a case-sensitive language.

R Command Prompt

You can enter the R code for a program at the R command prompt.

Launch the R GUI tool or RStudio IDE tool. Type the following commands at the R Console prompt.

 

> message <- “Hello, World!”

> print (message)

 

Output

[1] “Hello, R World!”

The first statement assigns a string value, “Hello, World!“, to the string variable, message. The print() function prints the value stored in the variable.

R script file

You can type all the code statements in a file, with .R file extension. We can execute these scripts at the command prompt with an R interpreter.

Example

A sample code that can be saved in a file called script.R:

The source(“filename”) function submits a script file to the current session of R. You can then run your Rscript, which contains a set of R statements.

> source(“C:/script.R”)

 

 

When you run the above program using the source() function, the following output is produced:

[1] “Hello, World!”

R Official website

For more information on the R language, visit the official website:

• https://www.r-project.org/