R object identification

Abstraction: Workflow for inspecting unknown R object types and structure

Key points:

• Primary recommendation: str(obj) covers 99% of cases for inspecting R object structure
• Common inspection sequence: class(someObject) then str(someObject), followed by head(), summary(), or print() as needed
• Additional functions: typeof(), class(), sapply(obj, class), sapply(obj, attributes), attributes(), names()
• For S3/S4 objects, use methods(), showMethods(), showClass(); reference: Patrick Burns' R Inferno section 7

Connections: R Programming · Data Types · Debugging

Source: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1177926/r-object-identification