What are R operators?

Operators are fundamental building blocks of any programming language, and R is no exception. You can use R operators to carry out mathematical operations, perform arithmetic calculations, and evaluate comparisons and logical expressions.

What exactly are R operators?

R operators are special symbols or strings that are used to perform operations on values and variables. These operations can include arithmetic calculations, comparisons, assignments or other actions. Operators play a critical role in data transformation, manipulation and analysis in R, and are a cornerstone of R programming.

What different types of R operators are there?

R operators can be divided into different groups according to their functionality. The list below isn’t exhaustive, but it does include the main types of operators in R.

• Arithmetic operators: Used for arithmetic calculations.
• Logical operators: Used to compare truth values and evaluate logical expressions. They return a truth value.
• Bitwise operators: Used to manipulate bits in a number.
• Assignment operators: Used to assign values to variables.
• Comparison operators: Used to compare values and create logical expressions.

Unlike with many other programming languages, there isn’t an explicit increment or decrement operator in R. For example, if you need this functionality in for loops or while loops in R, you can do so by adding or subtracting with 1.

What are arithmetic operators in R?

Arithmetic operators are used to perform mathematical calculations such as basic arithmetic.

Code examples of arithmetic operators in R

a <- 7 
b <- 3 
addition <- a + b 
subtraction <- a - b 
multiplication <- a * b 
division <- a / b 
modulo <- a %% b 
Integer division <- a %/% b 
exponentiation <- 2^3 

What are logical operators in R?

Logical operators in R are used to compare truth values and evaluate logical expressions. They always return a truth value as a result, which can be either TRUE or FALSE.

Code examples of logical operators in R

x <- TRUE 
y <- FALSE 
 
and_operator <- x & y 
or_operator <- x | y 
not_operator <- !x 

What are Bitwise operators?

Bitwise operators let you manipulate bits in a number. To understand how these operators work, you need in-depth knowledge of the binary system, the number system for base 2.

Code examples of Bitwise operators in R

a <- 5 
b <- 3 
bitwise_and <- bitwAnd(a, b) 
bitwise_or <- bitwOr(a, b) 
bitwise_xor <- bitwXor(a, b) 
bitwise_not <- bitwNot(a) 
Slide left <- bitwShiftL(a, 1) 
Slide right <- bitwShiftR(a, 1) 

What are comparison operators in R?

Comparison operators are used to compare values. Here you return a Boolean value, i.e., either TRUE or FALSE.

Code examples of comparison operators in R

x <- 5 
y <- 3 
equal <- x == y 
not_equal <- x != y 
less_than <- x < y 
more_than <- x > y 
less_than_or_equal_to <- x <= y 
more_than_or_equal_to <- x >= y 

What are assignment operators in R?

Assignment operators are used to assign specific values to variables. They are an essential part of any programming language. There are several assignment operators in R, but most of the time the <- operator is used.

Code examples of assignment operators in R

matrix(1, nrow=2) 
b <- 3 
test <- function() { 
    a <<- 1 
}