r :Error: could not find function -User defined

Question

I am trying to run the below simple function in R studio

    a<-testfunc15(state,outcome)
           {

            st<-state
            out<-outcome 
             print(st)
             tempdff<-healthcareoutcome[healthcareoutcome$State==st,]
             tempdff 

              }

When i copy and paste of the R prompt of the R studio ,i get an error :

    Error: could not find function "testfunc15"
     > {
      + 
      + st<-state
      + out<-outcome 
      + print(st)
      + tempdff<-healthcareoutcome[healthcareoutcome$State==st,]
      + tempdff 
       + 
       + }
        Error: object 'state' not found

when i try to source it :source("testfunc15.R") then i get this error :

      Error in eval(expr, envir, enclos) : could not find function"testfunc15"

I am saving the file in the same getwd() as other functions ,other functions are working fine. Where am i going wrong ? I couldn't find an answer on stackoverflow though there were many questions with the same description. Please help

Did you want the first line to be testfunc15 <- function(state,outcome){ — Dason
– Dason, Commented Feb 22, 2016 at 2:58
I got the same problem and my first line of code is correct I think? it's: mycustomfunction <- function (input1,input2,input3) { — babipsylon
– babipsylon, Commented Jun 24, 2021 at 9:31

Amandine FAURILLOU · Accepted Answer · 2016-02-23 14:50:14Z

2

The first line of your code is telling R to store the result of testfunc15(state, outcome) in a. It is not defining the function.

Also your function as written here doesn't exist. It should be, as mentionned by Dason, either :

testfunc15 = function (state, outcome) or testfunc15 <- function (state, outcome)

And the end could be return(tempdiff) or tempdiff

edited Feb 23, 2016 at 14:50

answered Feb 22, 2016 at 8:48

Amandine FAURILLOU

6121 gold badge10 silver badges29 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

10 Comments

Tensibai Over a year ago

The return is unnecessary, a function in R return the value of the last statement, return is only needed if you want to exit the function prematurely (in an if clause for example).

Tensibai Over a year ago

You can test it with a<- function(x) { x*2}; b <- a(5) and b should be 10 (on phone there may be typo)

tblznbits Over a year ago

While @Tensibai is correct, I'd argue that return is "necessary" for readability of the code. It's also necessary if you want to return a value that isn't derived from the last statement of the function. Example:

f <- function() { dat <- data.frame(x = rnorm(100),  y = rnorm(100)); write.csv(dat, path = "some/file.csv"); return(dat) }

tblznbits Over a year ago

@tensibai Fair enough. I've never really thought about the CPU time spent looking for return, but I can see how when running a function millions/billions of times, the consistent search for return is unnecessary.

Tensibai Over a year ago

And while at it, as the return value from <- is the assigned value, you can omit totally the last line in the function and end it with tmpdff <- tempdff<-healthcareoutcome[healthcareoutcome$State==st,] but this has few interest as it's local to the function, so just healthcareoutcome[healthcareoutcome$State==st,] would be enough. (and this avoid creating a copy in memory to free it just after)

|

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

r :Error: could not find function -User defined

1 Answer 1

10 Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

1 Answer 1

10 Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related