is.numeric(factor(...)) {was: bug in sample (PR#305)}

[Martin Maechler]

Before turning this into a new bug report (not connected to sample() at all):
{ factor() behavior redesigning must be done carefully... }
Some detective work reveals

R versions from 0.50 to 0.61.3  all give

  is.numeric(gl(3,5,15)) 
			 |-> FALSE

Since R version 0.62.1 (June 15, 1998),
the above gives TRUE.
  
The NEWS for 0.62[.1] has

    o	All internal mechanisms to support factors and data.frames have
	been removed.  These are now entirely supported by interpreted
	code!  `is.unordered' has been eliminated.  Thanks to John
	Chambers for allowing the distribution of his StatLib code.

i.e., they change occurded when we dropped the internal factor type...

--

Yes, my gut feeling also says that the current behavior is wrong...

-- 
Martin Maechler <maechler@stat.math.ethz.ch>	http://stat.ethz.ch/~maechler/
Seminar fuer Statistik, ETH-Zentrum  LEO D10	Leonhardstr. 27
ETH (Federal Inst. Technology)	8092 Zurich	SWITZERLAND
phone: x-41-1-632-3408		fax: ...-1228			<><
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