[R] Help: The Difference Between Workspace, Script, and History

Bert Gunter gunter.berton at gene.com
Thu Dec 18 01:06:02 CET 2014


I can answer, but I think you'll get a better one if you tell us the
environment in which you're working -- RStudio, R's GUI, Rterm,... and
the platform (Windows, MAC, _nix).

Very briefly, but perhaps inadequately, the script is what you write
and send to R to execute or perhaps store in its workspace to be run
later (e.g. functions, data); the workspace is the "container" where R
stores its objects -- functions, variables, data, etc. -- that your
script puts there and that R loads by default; and history is simply a
record of the command that you sent to R to run.

I suggest that you have a look at "An Introduction to R" for a better
description of how things work than your current tutorial apparently
gives.

Cheers,
Bert

Bert Gunter
Genentech Nonclinical Biostatistics
(650) 467-7374

"Data is not information. Information is not knowledge. And knowledge
is certainly not wisdom."
Clifford Stoll




On Wed, Dec 17, 2014 at 2:27 PM, Ian Evans <ievans272 at gmail.com> wrote:
> I apologize that I am very new to R and programming in general. I do not
> understand the difference between the script, the workspace, and the
> history, and what saving each one means.
>
> I seem to be doing fine writing commands and going through lessons and
> examples (I'm using Learn R in a Day) but when I try to save what I wrote
> and load it later, it tells me that it is loaded, but none of my code is
> one the screen.
>
>         [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>
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