Functions and Packages

This chapter introduces readers to the existence and use of functions in R. It describes functions as being R’s version of verbs: the way we get the computer to do things. Using an example from a previous chapter, it explains the generic components of a function and then demonstrates by introducing and explaining functions to ask the computer to do familiar tasks. It then introduces packages and how to download them. Finally, it explains how to best use a function’s documentation as a beginner.