Ignore safety check when using setnames

Question

DT<-data.table(a=1,b=2,a=3)
DT
#   a b a
#1: 1 2 3
setnames(DT,"b","c")
#Error in setnames(DT, "b", "c") : 
# 'old' is character but there are duplicate column names: a

In the example above, you can see that I wish to change the header of a column that is not duplicated, but setnames prevents me from doing so. Is there a way to ignore the check, as the column header I am changing is not duplicated?

Answer 1

+1 Now fixed in v1.8.11. From NEWS :

setnames(DT,"oldname","newname") no longer complains about duplicated column names in DT so long as oldname is unique and unambiguous. Thanks to Wet Feet for highlighting.