[R] memory efficiency in R

Paul Gilbert pgilbert at bank-banque-canada.ca
Tue Oct 19 18:33:49 CEST 1999


>> In S-Plus, memory problems from large for() loops can often be solved with
>> the For() function, which essentially writes out a script (one line per
>> iteration) and runs it through a background S process.  I don't know if R
>> has anything comparable.

>R doesn't, I think because under R's memory management system it
>would make matters worse, not better (except on a multiprocessor machine).

Just to avoid any confusion here let me add that "For" loops are not needed in R
because
memory is handled differently in "for" loops. My DSE library code needs For
loops of For
loops to run in Splus 3.3, and simple for loops work just fine in R. This is
especially nice
because for loops are A LOT easier to debug than For loops.

Paul Gilbert

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