CODEWITHSUNDEEP
r
Merle
Merle

Reputation: 1

Understanding R console vs writing R code in text file

What is the difference between using R console vs writing R code in a text file? I wrote this question on Kaggle but there were no previous questions on this matter.

Upvotes: 0

Views: 5491

Answers (1)

DPH
DPH

Reputation: 4344

When you supply code via text file (.R file) you "run the file with R" without visualizing it and it can stop somewhere due to error i.e. (which can be handled, etc.). Also running an .R file with R (for example via .bat file) generates a .Rout file, which is basically a print out of the console and some aditional info like runtime, etc.

If you feed the code in the console, each line is treated independently: even if there is an error you can process an aditional line (if it depends on the failed comand then it will fail also though) and you get to see each result as soon as the comand is run. In comparision to the .R file you will have no copy of the code other than that stored in the session - meaning you will end up needing to save to disk the code you have written if you want it to persist between session. Now you can choose to use whatever text format you like for this task from simple .txt to .docx BUT if you use .R format you can manipulate with notepad++ or the notepad editor and still run/complipe the file with R (via .bat file for example). In case of opting against .R file to store the written code, you will have to feed it to the console again to run.

In R Studio you can open .R files and manage (extend, correct) your code and feed it comand per comand or as a block to the console. So one could say you use .R files to manage you code, having the possiblity to compile/run these .R files directly with R to execute on a button click or repeatedly for example.

Not sure if that is what you are looking for?

Upvotes: 1

Related Questions