R - Array

Arrays are important data storage structures defined by a fixed number of dimensions. Arrays are used for the allocation of space at contiguous memory locations.

In R Programming Language Uni-dimensional arrays are called vectors with the length being their only dimension. Two-dimensional arrays are called matrices, consisting of fixed numbers of rows and columns. R Arrays consist of all elements of the same data type. Vectors are supplied as input to the function and then create an array based on the number of dimensions.

1. Creating an Array

An R array can be created with the use of array() the function. A list of elements is passed to the array() functions along with the dimensions as required.

Syntax:

array(data, dim = (nrow, ncol, nmat), dimnames=names)

where:

• nrow: Number of rows
• ncol: Number of columns
• nmat: Number of matrices of dimensions nrow * ncol
• dimnames: Default value = NULL.

Otherwise, a list has to be specified which has a name for each component of the dimension. Each component is either a null or a vector of length equal to the dim value of that corresponding dimension.

1.1 Uni-Dimensional Array

A vector is a uni-dimensional array, which is specified by a single dimension, length. A Vector can be created using c() function. A list of values is passed to the c() function to create a vector.

Output:

[1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Length of vector : 9

1.2. Multi-Dimensional Array

A two-dimensional matrix is an array specified by a fixed number of rows and columns, each containing the same data type. A matrix is created by using array() function to which the values and the dimensions are passed.

Output:

1.3. Multi-Dimensional Array using vectors

Vectors of different lengths can also be fed as input into the array() function. However, the total number of elements in all the vectors combined should be equal to the number of elements in the matrices. The elements are arranged in the order in which they are specified in the function.

Output:

2. Dimension of the Array

We will use dim function to find out the dimension of the R array.

Output:

[1] 2 3 2

This specifies the dimensions of the R array. In this case, we are creating a 3D array with dimensions 2x3x2. The first dimension has size 2, the second dimension has size 3, and the third dimension has size 2.

3. Naming of Arrays

The row names, column names and matrices names are specified as a vector of the number of rows, number of columns and number of matrices respectively. By default, the rows, columns and matrices are named by their index values.

Output:

4. Accessing arrays

The R arrays can be accessed by using indices for different dimensions separated by commas. Different components can be specified by any combination of elements' names or positions.

4.1. Accessing Uni-Dimensional Array

The elements can be accessed by using indexes of the corresponding elements.

Output:

4.2. Accessing Multi-Dimensional Array

The elements can be accessed by using indexes of the corresponding elements.

Output:

5. Adding elements to array

Elements can be appended at the different positions in the array. The sequence of elements is retained in order of their addition to the array. The time complexity required to add new elements is O(n) where n is the length of the array. The length of the array increases by the number of element additions. There are various in-built functions available in R to add new values:

• c(vector, values): Adds values at the end.
• append(vector, values): Adds values at any position.
• length(): Add elements at specified index based on array length.

Output:

The original length of the array was 7, and after third modification elements are present till the 8th index value. Now, at the fourth modification, when we add element 9 at the tenth index value, the R’s inbuilt function automatically adds NA at the missing value positions. At 5th modification, the array of elements [10, 11, 12] are added beginning from the 11th index. At 6th modification, array [-1, -1] is appended after the third position in the array.

6. Removing Elements from Array

Elements can be removed from arrays in R, either one at a time or multiple together. These elements are specified as indexes to the array, where in the array values satisfying the conditions are retained and rest removed. We can

• Use comparison operators for removal (e.g., != for inequality).
• Use %in% to remove elements based on a list of values.

Output:

At 1st modification, all the element values that are not equal to 3 are retained. At 2nd modification, the range of elements that are between 2 and 8 are retained, rest are removed. At 3rd modification, the elements satisfying the FALSE value are printed, since the condition involves the NOT operator.

7. Updating Existing Elements of Array

The elements of the array can be updated with new values by assignment of the desired index of the array with the modified value. The changes are retained in the original array. If the index value to be updated is within the length of the array, then the value is changed, otherwise, the new element is added at the specified index. Multiple elements can also be updated at once, either with the same element value or multiple values in case the new values are specified as a vector.

Output:

At 2nd modification, the elements at indexes 7 to 9 are updated with -1 each. At 3rd modification, the second element is replaced by -1 and fifth element by -2 respectively. At 4th modification, a new element is added since 10th index is greater than the length of the array.