Writing Classes and Methods

Abstract

It is often helpful to have a function behave differently depending on the type of object passed. For example, when summarizing a variable, it makes sense to create a different summary for numeric or string data. It is possible to have a different function for every type of object, but then users would have to remember many function names, and to remain unique, function names may be longer. Object-oriented programming (OOP) is based on objects and is implemented in R (as in most programming languages) by using two concepts: classes and methods. A class defines a template, or blueprint, describing the variables and features of an object as well as determining what methods work for it. For example, a house may be defined as having a floor, four walls, a roof, and a door. Specific data represents these properties, such as the dimensions and color of each wall. The methods are behaviors or actions that can be performed on a particular object type. For instance, a house can be painted, which changes its color, but a house cannot be eaten. R has three object-oriented systems: S3, S4, and R5. This chapter covers the S3 and S4 systems, which are the most common.