Lecture 10: Functions in R are objects, just like everything else, and so can be both arguments to and return values of functions, with no special machinery required. Examples from math (especially calculus) of functions with other functions as arguments. Some R syntax relating to functions. Examples with curve. Using sapply to extend functions of single numbers to functions of vectors; its combination with curve. We write functions with lower-level functions as arguments to abstract out a common pattern of operations. Example: calculating a gradient. Numerical gradients by first differences, done two different ways. (Limitations of taking derivatives by first differences.) Incorporating this as a part of a larger algorithm, such as gradient descent. Using adapters, like wrapper functions and anonymous functions, to fit different functions together. — R for examples.
Posted at October 03, 2011 10:30 | permanent link