Returning multiple objects in an R function [duplicate]

Question

How can I return multiple objects in an R function? In Java, I would make a Class, maybe Person which has some private variables and encapsulates, maybe, height, age, etc.

But in R, I need to pass around groups of data. For example, how can I make an R function return both an list of characters and an integer?

Answer 1

Unlike many other languages, R functions don't return multiple objects in the strict sense. The most general way to handle this is to return a list object. So if you have an integer foo and a vector of strings bar in your function, you could create a list that combines these items:

foo <- 12
bar <- c("a", "b", "e")
newList <- list("integer" = foo, "names" = bar)

Then return this list.

After calling your function, you can then access each of these with newList$integer or newList$names.

Other object types might work better for various purposes, but the list object is a good way to get started.

Answer 2

Similarly in Java, you can create a S4 class in R that encapsulates your information:

setClass(Class="Person",
         representation(
            height="numeric",
            age="numeric"
          )
)

Then your function can return an instance of this class:

myFunction = function(age=28, height=176){
  return(new("Person",
          age=age,
          height=height))
}

and you can access your information:

aPerson = myFunction()

aPerson@age
aPerson@height