assign {base} | R Documentation

## Assign a Value to a Name

### Description

Assign a value to a name in an environment.

### Usage

    assign(x, value, pos = -1, envir = as.environment(pos),
           inherits = FALSE, immediate = TRUE)

### Arguments

`x` | a variable name (given as a quoted string in the function call).
`value` | a value to be assigned to `x`.
`pos` | where to do the assignment. By default, assigns into the current environment. See the details for other possibilities.
`envir` | the `environment` to use. See the details section.
`inherits` | should the enclosing frames of the environment be inspected?
`immediate` | an ignored compatibility feature.

### Details

The `pos` argument can specify the environment in which to assign the object in any of several ways: as an integer (the position in the `search` list); as the character string name of an element in the search list; or as an `environment` (including using `sys.frame` to access the currently active function calls). The `envir` argument is an alternative way to specify an environment, but is primarily there for back compatibility.

`assign` does not dispatch assignment methods, so it cannot be used to set elements of vectors, names, attributes, etc.

Note that assignment to an attached list or data frame changes the attached copy and not the original object: see `attach`.

### Value

This function is invoked for its side effect, which is assigning `value` to the variable `x`. If no `envir` is specified, then the assignment takes place in the currently active environment.
If `inherits` is `TRUE`, enclosing environments of the supplied environment are searched until the variable `x` is encountered. The value is then assigned in the environment in which the variable is encountered. If the symbol is not encountered then assignment takes place in the user's workspace (the global environment).
If `inherits` is `FALSE`, assignment takes place in the initial frame of `envir`.

### References

Becker, R. A., Chambers, J. M. and Wilks, A. R. (1988) The New S Language. Wadsworth & Brooks/Cole.

### See Also

`<-`, `get`, `exists`, `environment`.

### Examples

    for(i in 1:6) { #-- Create objects  'r.1', 'r.2', ... 'r.6' --
     nam <- paste("r",i, sep=".")
     assign(nam, 1:i)
    }
    ls(pat="^r..$")

    ##-- Global assignment within a function:
    myf <- function(x) {
     innerf <- function(x) assign("Global.res", x^2, env = .GlobalEnv)
     innerf(x+1)
    }
    myf(3)
    Global.res # 16

    a <- 1:4
    assign("a[1]", 2)
    a[1] == 2          #FALSE
    get("a[1]") == 2   #TRUE

[Package base version 2.3.1 Index]