Boxplot of multiple vectors with different lengths

[Ryan Utz-2]

Hello,

I'm attempting to write a code that automatically imports data from
different files (with different lengths-just one variable) and makes tidy
box plots for comparison. I can successfully import the data and create a
list of the vectors I want to compare. But I cannot, for the life of me,
figure out how to generate box plots using the "list" option. Suppose these
are my data:

a<-c(1,1,1,1,2,3,2,1,2,3)
b<-c(2,2,2,3,4,4,4,3,3)
c<-c(4,3,3,2,3,4,5,3,3,3,4,4,5,6,3,2)

And this is my list of the vectors I'm interested in:

 z<-list(c("a","b","c"))

Well, this successfully generates the kind of boxplot I want:

boxplot(a,b,c)

But this does not:

boxplot(z)

Because I'm trying to write an automatic plot-generator as the amount of
data I'm working with will typically vary, I need to write this to handle
any number of data vectors.

I've tried every imaginable means of tweaking the name of "z", with zero
success. And I've scoured the help pages for about 45 minutes (just to
preempt any "read the help" responses). Please help!

Thanks,
Ryan

--

Ryan Utz, Ph.D.
Aquatic Ecologist/STREON Scientist
National Ecological Observatory Network

Home/Cell: [phone]
Work: [phone]

        [[alternative HTML version deleted]]

______________________________________________
[hidden email] mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.

[Sarah Goslee]

Hi,

On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 4:24 PM, Ryan Utz <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I'm attempting to write a code that automatically imports data from
> different files (with different lengths-just one variable) and makes tidy
> box plots for comparison. I can successfully import the data and create a
> list of the vectors I want to compare. But I cannot, for the life of me,
> figure out how to generate box plots using the "list" option. Suppose these
> are my data:
>
> a<-c(1,1,1,1,2,3,2,1,2,3)
> b<-c(2,2,2,3,4,4,4,3,3)
> c<-c(4,3,3,2,3,4,5,3,3,3,4,4,5,6,3,2)
>
> And this is my list of the vectors I'm interested in:
>
>  z<-list(c("a","b","c"))

Did you look at z? You've made a list with a single element containing
three characters:

> z
[[1]]
[1] "a" "b" "c"

You need instead:
z <- list(a, b, c)

Also, don't call a variable c - that's a built-in function and using
the name elsewhere can cause all kinds of problems (look at your own
code line, where you use c as a function and as a variable. although
that wasn't a problem here).

Sarah

> Well, this successfully generates the kind of boxplot I want:
>
> boxplot(a,b,c)
>
> But this does not:
>
> boxplot(z)
>
> Because I'm trying to write an automatic plot-generator as the amount of
> data I'm working with will typically vary, I need to write this to handle
> any number of data vectors.
>
> I've tried every imaginable means of tweaking the name of "z", with zero
> success. And I've scoured the help pages for about 45 minutes (just to
> preempt any "read the help" responses). Please help!
>
> Thanks,
> Ryan
>

--
Sarah Goslee
http://www.functionaldiversity.org

______________________________________________
[hidden email] mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.

[Thomas Adams]

Ryan,

I think you could do what you want by having the vector data written to
separate files; then create a file containing the individual file names. In
R, read the file containing the list of file names and loop through this
reading in the individual vector files. Maybe this is an inelegant, brute
force approach, but it has worked for me with essentially the same problem.

Tom

On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 4:24 PM, Ryan Utz <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I'm attempting to write a code that automatically imports data from
> different files (with different lengths-just one variable) and makes tidy
> box plots for comparison. I can successfully import the data and create a
> list of the vectors I want to compare. But I cannot, for the life of me,
> figure out how to generate box plots using the "list" option. Suppose these
> are my data:
>
> a<-c(1,1,1,1,2,3,2,1,2,3)
> b<-c(2,2,2,3,4,4,4,3,3)
> c<-c(4,3,3,2,3,4,5,3,3,3,4,4,5,6,3,2)
>
> And this is my list of the vectors I'm interested in:
>
>  z<-list(c("a","b","c"))
>
> Well, this successfully generates the kind of boxplot I want:
>
> boxplot(a,b,c)
>
> But this does not:
>
> boxplot(z)
>
> Because I'm trying to write an automatic plot-generator as the amount of
> data I'm working with will typically vary, I need to write this to handle
> any number of data vectors.
>
> I've tried every imaginable means of tweaking the name of "z", with zero
> success. And I've scoured the help pages for about 45 minutes (just to
> preempt any "read the help" responses). Please help!
>
> Thanks,
> Ryan
>
> --
>
> Ryan Utz, Ph.D.
> Aquatic Ecologist/STREON Scientist
> National Ecological Observatory Network
>
> Home/Cell: [phone]
> Work: [phone]
>
>        [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>
> ______________________________________________
> [hidden email] mailing list
> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> PLEASE do read the posting guide
> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>

--

Thomas E Adams
National Weather Service
Ohio River Forecast Center
1901 South State Route 134
Wilmington, OH 45177
EMAIL: [hidden email]
VOICE: 937-383-0528
FAX: [phone]

        [[alternative HTML version deleted]]

______________________________________________
[hidden email] mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.

[Bert Gunter]

Sorry -- previous versiuon prematurely sent. Full version is:

 Yikes!  You should never have to do this sort of thing (writing stuff
 out to files, etc.)

 What is wanted, I believe, is ?do.call as in

 do.call(boxplot, z)

 where z is list(a,b,c)   as Sarah described.

 However, I think you might do even better in terms of controlling
 options, labels, etc. if you would get the data into standard flat
 file format (data frame) as

Result     Source
 1            a
  3           b
2             b
  5         c
... etc.

(This is easy to do in R and via many packages.)
and then use he formula interface in the lattice ?bwplot  function for th eplot.

Cheers,
Bert

>
> result
>
> On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 1:43 PM, Thomas Adams <[hidden email]> wrote:
>> Ryan,
>>
>> I think you could do what you want by having the vector data written to
>> separate files; then create a file containing the individual file names. In
>> R, read the file containing the list of file names and loop through this
>> reading in the individual vector files. Maybe this is an inelegant, brute
>> force approach, but it has worked for me with essentially the same problem.
>>
>> Tom
>>
>> On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 4:24 PM, Ryan Utz <[hidden email]> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> I'm attempting to write a code that automatically imports data from
>>> different files (with different lengths-just one variable) and makes tidy
>>> box plots for comparison. I can successfully import the data and create a
>>> list of the vectors I want to compare. But I cannot, for the life of me,
>>> figure out how to generate box plots using the "list" option. Suppose these
>>> are my data:
>>>
>>> a<-c(1,1,1,1,2,3,2,1,2,3)
>>> b<-c(2,2,2,3,4,4,4,3,3)
>>> c<-c(4,3,3,2,3,4,5,3,3,3,4,4,5,6,3,2)
>>>
>>> And this is my list of the vectors I'm interested in:
>>>
>>>  z<-list(c("a","b","c"))
>>>
>>> Well, this successfully generates the kind of boxplot I want:
>>>
>>> boxplot(a,b,c)
>>>
>>> But this does not:
>>>
>>> boxplot(z)
>>>
>>> Because I'm trying to write an automatic plot-generator as the amount of
>>> data I'm working with will typically vary, I need to write this to handle
>>> any number of data vectors.
>>>
>>> I've tried every imaginable means of tweaking the name of "z", with zero
>>> success. And I've scoured the help pages for about 45 minutes (just to
>>> preempt any "read the help" responses). Please help!
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Ryan
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> Ryan Utz, Ph.D.
>>> Aquatic Ecologist/STREON Scientist
>>> National Ecological Observatory Network
>>>
>>> Home/Cell: [phone]
>>> Work: [phone]
>>>
>>>        [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>>>
>>> ______________________________________________
>>> [hidden email] mailing list
>>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
>>> PLEASE do read the posting guide
>>> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
>>> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Thomas E Adams
>> National Weather Service
>> Ohio River Forecast Center
>> 1901 South State Route 134
>> Wilmington, OH 45177
>> EMAIL:  [hidden email]
>> VOICE:  937-383-0528
>> FAX:    [phone]
>>
>>        [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>>
>> ______________________________________________
>> [hidden email] mailing list
>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
>> PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
>> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>
>
>
> --
>
> Bert Gunter
> Genentech Nonclinical Biostatistics
>
> Internal Contact Info:
> Phone: [phone]
> Website:
> http://pharmadevelopment.roche.com/index/pdb/pdb-functional-groups/pdb-biostatistics/pdb-ncb-home.htm

--

Bert Gunter
Genentech Nonclinical Biostatistics

Internal Contact Info:
Phone: [phone]
Website:
http://pharmadevelopment.roche.com/index/pdb/pdb-functional-groups/pdb-biostatistics/pdb-ncb-home.htm

______________________________________________
[hidden email] mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.

[Thomas Adams]

Bert,

I may be mistaken, but I thought Ryan wrote "write code that
automatically *imports
data* from different files (with different lengths-just one variable)", so,
I was referring to doing something with the data before it gets into R. I
understand that one should not need to write out data and then re-read it
in some way. As I said, those more experienced with R will probably offer
better ideas.

Tom

On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 5:05 PM, Bert Gunter <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Sorry -- previous versiuon prematurely sent. Full version is:
>
>  Yikes!  You should never have to do this sort of thing (writing stuff
>  out to files, etc.)
>
>  What is wanted, I believe, is ?do.call as in
>
>  do.call(boxplot, z)
>
>  where z is list(a,b,c)   as Sarah described.
>
>  However, I think you might do even better in terms of controlling
>  options, labels, etc. if you would get the data into standard flat
>  file format (data frame) as
>
> Result     Source
>  1            a
>  3           b
> 2             b
>  5         c
> ... etc.
>
> (This is easy to do in R and via many packages.)
> and then use he formula interface in the lattice ?bwplot  function for th
> eplot.
>
> Cheers,
> Bert
>
> >
> > result
> >
> > On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 1:43 PM, Thomas Adams <[hidden email]>
> wrote:
> >> Ryan,
> >>
> >> I think you could do what you want by having the vector data written to
> >> separate files; then create a file containing the individual file
> names. In
> >> R, read the file containing the list of file names and loop through this
> >> reading in the individual vector files. Maybe this is an inelegant,
> brute
> >> force approach, but it has worked for me with essentially the same
> problem.
> >>
> >> Tom
> >>
> >> On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 4:24 PM, Ryan Utz <[hidden email]> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Hello,
> >>>
> >>> I'm attempting to write a code that automatically imports data from
> >>> different files (with different lengths-just one variable) and makes
> tidy
> >>> box plots for comparison. I can successfully import the data and
> create a
> >>> list of the vectors I want to compare. But I cannot, for the life of
> me,
> >>> figure out how to generate box plots using the "list" option. Suppose
> these
> >>> are my data:
> >>>
> >>> a<-c(1,1,1,1,2,3,2,1,2,3)
> >>> b<-c(2,2,2,3,4,4,4,3,3)
> >>> c<-c(4,3,3,2,3,4,5,3,3,3,4,4,5,6,3,2)
> >>>
> >>> And this is my list of the vectors I'm interested in:
> >>>
> >>>  z<-list(c("a","b","c"))
> >>>
> >>> Well, this successfully generates the kind of boxplot I want:
> >>>
> >>> boxplot(a,b,c)
> >>>
> >>> But this does not:
> >>>
> >>> boxplot(z)
> >>>
> >>> Because I'm trying to write an automatic plot-generator as the amount
> of
> >>> data I'm working with will typically vary, I need to write this to
> handle
> >>> any number of data vectors.
> >>>
> >>> I've tried every imaginable means of tweaking the name of "z", with
> zero
> >>> success. And I've scoured the help pages for about 45 minutes (just to
> >>> preempt any "read the help" responses). Please help!
> >>>
> >>> Thanks,
> >>> Ryan
> >>>
> >>> --
> >>>
> >>> Ryan Utz, Ph.D.
> >>> Aquatic Ecologist/STREON Scientist
> >>> National Ecological Observatory Network
> >>>
> >>> Home/Cell: [phone]
> >>> Work: [phone]
> >>>
> >>>        [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
> >>>
> >>> ______________________________________________
> >>> [hidden email] mailing list
> >>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> >>> PLEASE do read the posting guide
> >>> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> >>> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >>
> >> Thomas E Adams
> >> National Weather Service
> >> Ohio River Forecast Center
> >> 1901 South State Route 134
> >> Wilmington, OH 45177
> >> EMAIL:  [hidden email]
> >> VOICE:  937-383-0528
> >> FAX:    [phone]
> >>
> >>        [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
> >>
> >> ______________________________________________
> >> [hidden email] mailing list
> >> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> >> PLEASE do read the posting guide
> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> >> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> > Bert Gunter
> > Genentech Nonclinical Biostatistics
> >
> > Internal Contact Info:
> > Phone: [phone]
> > Website:
> >
> http://pharmadevelopment.roche.com/index/pdb/pdb-functional-groups/pdb-biostatistics/pdb-ncb-home.htm
>
>
>
> --
>
> Bert Gunter
> Genentech Nonclinical Biostatistics
>
> Internal Contact Info:
> Phone: [phone]
> Website:
>
> http://pharmadevelopment.roche.com/index/pdb/pdb-functional-groups/pdb-biostatistics/pdb-ncb-home.htm
>

--

Thomas E Adams
National Weather Service
Ohio River Forecast Center
1901 South State Route 134
Wilmington, OH 45177
EMAIL: [hidden email]
VOICE: 937-383-0528
FAX: [phone]

        [[alternative HTML version deleted]]

______________________________________________
[hidden email] mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.

[Vining, Kelly]

Ryan,
Do you necessarily have to use "list"? Have you tried the usecols=TRUE option in boxplot?

Cheers,
--Kelly V.

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Ryan Utz
Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 1:24 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [R] Boxplot of multiple vectors with different lengths

Hello,

I'm attempting to write a code that automatically imports data from different files (with different lengths-just one variable) and makes tidy box plots for comparison. I can successfully import the data and create a list of the vectors I want to compare. But I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to generate box plots using the "list" option. Suppose these are my data:

a<-c(1,1,1,1,2,3,2,1,2,3)
b<-c(2,2,2,3,4,4,4,3,3)
c<-c(4,3,3,2,3,4,5,3,3,3,4,4,5,6,3,2)

And this is my list of the vectors I'm interested in:

 z<-list(c("a","b","c"))

Well, this successfully generates the kind of boxplot I want:

boxplot(a,b,c)

But this does not:

boxplot(z)

Because I'm trying to write an automatic plot-generator as the amount of data I'm working with will typically vary, I need to write this to handle any number of data vectors.

I've tried every imaginable means of tweaking the name of "z", with zero success. And I've scoured the help pages for about 45 minutes (just to preempt any "read the help" responses). Please help!

Thanks,
Ryan

--

Ryan Utz, Ph.D.
Aquatic Ecologist/STREON Scientist
National Ecological Observatory Network

Home/Cell: [phone]
Work: [phone]

        [[alternative HTML version deleted]]

______________________________________________
[hidden email] mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.

______________________________________________
[hidden email] mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.

[Ryan Utz-2]

Thanks for the help, everyone. However, no solution yet...

My vectors names are neatly stored in a character vector of their own. This
happens based on how they were imported. So, say I have vectors a, b and c,
all with numeric-only contents. Then I have another vector, say z, that
looks like this:

z<-c("a","b","c")

Is there really no way to tell boxplot to plot the contents of a, b and c
while only referencing z?! Why is this so difficult?? Again, this is part
of an automated process, so the number of incoming data sets, etc. will
vary, which is why I'm seeking a solution this way.



On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 4:09 PM, Vining, Kelly <[hidden email]
> wrote:

> Ryan,
> Do you necessarily have to use "list"? Have you tried the usecols=TRUE
> option in boxplot?
>
> Cheers,
> --Kelly V.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]]
> On Behalf Of Ryan Utz
> Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 1:24 PM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: [R] Boxplot of multiple vectors with different lengths
>
> Hello,
>
> I'm attempting to write a code that automatically imports data from
> different files (with different lengths-just one variable) and makes tidy
> box plots for comparison. I can successfully import the data and create a
> list of the vectors I want to compare. But I cannot, for the life of me,
> figure out how to generate box plots using the "list" option. Suppose these
> are my data:
>
> a<-c(1,1,1,1,2,3,2,1,2,3)
> b<-c(2,2,2,3,4,4,4,3,3)
> c<-c(4,3,3,2,3,4,5,3,3,3,4,4,5,6,3,2)
>
> And this is my list of the vectors I'm interested in:
>
>  z<-list(c("a","b","c"))
>
> Well, this successfully generates the kind of boxplot I want:
>
> boxplot(a,b,c)
>
> But this does not:
>
> boxplot(z)
>
> Because I'm trying to write an automatic plot-generator as the amount of
> data I'm working with will typically vary, I need to write this to handle
> any number of data vectors.
>
> I've tried every imaginable means of tweaking the name of "z", with zero
> success. And I've scoured the help pages for about 45 minutes (just to
> preempt any "read the help" responses). Please help!
>
> Thanks,
> Ryan
>
> --
>
> Ryan Utz, Ph.D.
> Aquatic Ecologist/STREON Scientist
> National Ecological Observatory Network
>
> Home/Cell: [phone]
> Work: [phone]
>
>         [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>
> ______________________________________________
> [hidden email] mailing list
> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> PLEASE do read the posting guide
> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>

--

Ryan Utz, Ph.D.
Aquatic Ecologist/STREON Scientist
National Ecological Observatory Network

Home/Cell: [phone]
Work: [phone]

        [[alternative HTML version deleted]]

______________________________________________
[hidden email] mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.

[Peter Ehlers]

On 2011-12-12 15:14, Ryan Utz wrote:

> Thanks for the help, everyone. However, no solution yet...
>
> My vectors names are neatly stored in a character vector of their own. This
> happens based on how they were imported. So, say I have vectors a, b and c,
> all with numeric-only contents. Then I have another vector, say z, that
> looks like this:
>
> z<-c("a","b","c")
>
> Is there really no way to tell boxplot to plot the contents of a, b and c
> while only referencing z?! Why is this so difficult?? Again, this is part
> of an automated process, so the number of incoming data sets, etc. will
> vary, which is why I'm seeking a solution this way.
>

I thought that Bert had given you the answer; try this:

   aa <- runif(15)
   bb <- rnorm(30)
   cc <- rnorm(50,sd=2)
   z <- c(aa,bb,cc)
   g <- rep(LETTERS[1:3],c(length(aa),length(bb),length(cc)))
   boxplot(z ~ g)


Peter Ehlers

>
>
> On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 4:09 PM, Vining, Kelly<[hidden email]
>> wrote:
>
>> Ryan,
>> Do you necessarily have to use "list"? Have you tried the usecols=TRUE
>> option in boxplot?
>>
>> Cheers,
>> --Kelly V.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]]
>> On Behalf Of Ryan Utz
>> Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 1:24 PM
>> To: [hidden email]
>> Subject: [R] Boxplot of multiple vectors with different lengths
>>
>> Hello,
>>
>> I'm attempting to write a code that automatically imports data from
>> different files (with different lengths-just one variable) and makes tidy
>> box plots for comparison. I can successfully import the data and create a
>> list of the vectors I want to compare. But I cannot, for the life of me,
>> figure out how to generate box plots using the "list" option. Suppose these
>> are my data:
>>
>> a<-c(1,1,1,1,2,3,2,1,2,3)
>> b<-c(2,2,2,3,4,4,4,3,3)
>> c<-c(4,3,3,2,3,4,5,3,3,3,4,4,5,6,3,2)
>>
>> And this is my list of the vectors I'm interested in:
>>
>>   z<-list(c("a","b","c"))
>>
>> Well, this successfully generates the kind of boxplot I want:
>>
>> boxplot(a,b,c)
>>
>> But this does not:
>>
>> boxplot(z)
>>
>> Because I'm trying to write an automatic plot-generator as the amount of
>> data I'm working with will typically vary, I need to write this to handle
>> any number of data vectors.
>>
>> I've tried every imaginable means of tweaking the name of "z", with zero
>> success. And I've scoured the help pages for about 45 minutes (just to
>> preempt any "read the help" responses). Please help!
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Ryan
>>
>> --
>>
>> Ryan Utz, Ph.D.
>> Aquatic Ecologist/STREON Scientist
>> National Ecological Observatory Network
>>
>> Home/Cell: [phone]
>> Work: [phone]
>>
>>          [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>>
>> ______________________________________________
>> [hidden email] mailing list
>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
>> PLEASE do read the posting guide
>> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
>> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>>
>
>
>

______________________________________________
[hidden email] mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.

[Bert Gunter]

Thomas:

I stand corrected. Thank you.

-- Bert

On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 2:21 PM, Thomas Adams <[hidden email]> wrote:

> Bert,
>
> I may be mistaken, but I thought Ryan wrote "write code that automatically
> imports data from different files (with different lengths-just one
> variable)", so, I was referring to doing something with the data before it
> gets into R. I understand that one should not need to write out data and
> then re-read it in some way. As I said, those more experienced with R will
> probably offer better ideas.
>
> Tom
>
> On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 5:05 PM, Bert Gunter <[hidden email]> wrote:
>>
>> Sorry -- previous versiuon prematurely sent. Full version is:
>>
>>  Yikes!  You should never have to do this sort of thing (writing stuff
>>  out to files, etc.)
>>
>>  What is wanted, I believe, is ?do.call as in
>>
>>  do.call(boxplot, z)
>>
>>  where z is list(a,b,c)   as Sarah described.
>>
>>  However, I think you might do even better in terms of controlling
>>  options, labels, etc. if you would get the data into standard flat
>>  file format (data frame) as
>>
>> Result     Source
>>  1            a
>>  3           b
>> 2             b
>>  5         c
>> ... etc.
>>
>> (This is easy to do in R and via many packages.)
>> and then use he formula interface in the lattice ?bwplot  function for th
>> eplot.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Bert
>>
>> >
>> > result
>> >
>> > On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 1:43 PM, Thomas Adams <[hidden email]>
>> > wrote:
>> >> Ryan,
>> >>
>> >> I think you could do what you want by having the vector data written to
>> >> separate files; then create a file containing the individual file
>> >> names. In
>> >> R, read the file containing the list of file names and loop through
>> >> this
>> >> reading in the individual vector files. Maybe this is an inelegant,
>> >> brute
>> >> force approach, but it has worked for me with essentially the same
>> >> problem.
>> >>
>> >> Tom
>> >>
>> >> On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 4:24 PM, Ryan Utz <[hidden email]> wrote:
>> >>
>> >>> Hello,
>> >>>
>> >>> I'm attempting to write a code that automatically imports data from
>> >>> different files (with different lengths-just one variable) and makes
>> >>> tidy
>> >>> box plots for comparison. I can successfully import the data and
>> >>> create a
>> >>> list of the vectors I want to compare. But I cannot, for the life of
>> >>> me,
>> >>> figure out how to generate box plots using the "list" option. Suppose
>> >>> these
>> >>> are my data:
>> >>>
>> >>> a<-c(1,1,1,1,2,3,2,1,2,3)
>> >>> b<-c(2,2,2,3,4,4,4,3,3)
>> >>> c<-c(4,3,3,2,3,4,5,3,3,3,4,4,5,6,3,2)
>> >>>
>> >>> And this is my list of the vectors I'm interested in:
>> >>>
>> >>>  z<-list(c("a","b","c"))
>> >>>
>> >>> Well, this successfully generates the kind of boxplot I want:
>> >>>
>> >>> boxplot(a,b,c)
>> >>>
>> >>> But this does not:
>> >>>
>> >>> boxplot(z)
>> >>>
>> >>> Because I'm trying to write an automatic plot-generator as the amount
>> >>> of
>> >>> data I'm working with will typically vary, I need to write this to
>> >>> handle
>> >>> any number of data vectors.
>> >>>
>> >>> I've tried every imaginable means of tweaking the name of "z", with
>> >>> zero
>> >>> success. And I've scoured the help pages for about 45 minutes (just to
>> >>> preempt any "read the help" responses). Please help!
>> >>>
>> >>> Thanks,
>> >>> Ryan
>> >>>
>> >>> --
>> >>>
>> >>> Ryan Utz, Ph.D.
>> >>> Aquatic Ecologist/STREON Scientist
>> >>> National Ecological Observatory Network
>> >>>
>> >>> Home/Cell: [phone]
>> >>> Work: [phone]
>> >>>
>> >>>        [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>> >>>
>> >>> ______________________________________________
>> >>> [hidden email] mailing list
>> >>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
>> >>> PLEASE do read the posting guide
>> >>> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
>> >>> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>> >>>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> --
>> >>
>> >> Thomas E Adams
>> >> National Weather Service
>> >> Ohio River Forecast Center
>> >> 1901 South State Route 134
>> >> Wilmington, OH 45177
>> >> EMAIL:  [hidden email]
>> >> VOICE:  937-383-0528
>> >> FAX:    [phone]
>> >>
>> >>        [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>> >>
>> >> ______________________________________________
>> >> [hidden email] mailing list
>> >> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
>> >> PLEASE do read the posting guide
>> >> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
>> >> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> >
>> > Bert Gunter
>> > Genentech Nonclinical Biostatistics
>> >
>> > Internal Contact Info:
>> > Phone: [phone]
>> > Website:
>> >
>> > http://pharmadevelopment.roche.com/index/pdb/pdb-functional-groups/pdb-biostatistics/pdb-ncb-home.htm
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Bert Gunter
>> Genentech Nonclinical Biostatistics
>>
>> Internal Contact Info:
>> Phone: [phone]
>> Website:
>>
>> http://pharmadevelopment.roche.com/index/pdb/pdb-functional-groups/pdb-biostatistics/pdb-ncb-home.htm
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> Thomas E Adams
> National Weather Service
> Ohio River Forecast Center
> 1901 South State Route 134
> Wilmington, OH 45177
>
> EMAIL: [hidden email]
>
> VOICE: 937-383-0528
> FAX: [phone]
>
>

--

Bert Gunter
Genentech Nonclinical Biostatistics

Internal Contact Info:
Phone: [phone]
Website:
http://pharmadevelopment.roche.com/index/pdb/pdb-functional-groups/pdb-biostatistics/pdb-ncb-home.htm

______________________________________________
[hidden email] mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.

[Trevor Carey-Smith]

On 12/13/2011 12:14 PM, Ryan Utz wrote:
> My vectors names are neatly stored in a character vector of their own. This
> happens based on how they were imported. So, say I have vectors a, b and c,
> all with numeric-only contents. Then I have another vector, say z, that
> looks like this:
>
> z<-c("a","b","c")
>
> Is there really no way to tell boxplot to plot the contents of a, b and c
> while only referencing z?!

here is one solution if I understand your requirement:

aa <- rnorm(20)
bb <- runif(30)
cc <- rexp(40)
z <- c("aa","bb","cc")
l <- lapply(z,get)
boxplot(l)

Although as Sarah said, this will fail if you use 'c' as a variable name
as the list would then contain the function c() rather than the variable
you previously defined.

Regards,
Trevor

> Why is this so difficult?? Again, this is part
> of an automated process, so the number of incoming data sets, etc. will
> vary, which is why I'm seeking a solution this way.
>
>
>
> On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 4:09 PM, Vining, Kelly<[hidden email]
>> wrote:
>
>> Ryan,
>> Do you necessarily have to use "list"? Have you tried the usecols=TRUE
>> option in boxplot?
>>
>> Cheers,
>> --Kelly V.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]]
>> On Behalf Of Ryan Utz
>> Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 1:24 PM
>> To: [hidden email]
>> Subject: [R] Boxplot of multiple vectors with different lengths
>>
>> Hello,
>>
>> I'm attempting to write a code that automatically imports data from
>> different files (with different lengths-just one variable) and makes tidy
>> box plots for comparison. I can successfully import the data and create a
>> list of the vectors I want to compare. But I cannot, for the life of me,
>> figure out how to generate box plots using the "list" option. Suppose these
>> are my data:
>>
>> a<-c(1,1,1,1,2,3,2,1,2,3)
>> b<-c(2,2,2,3,4,4,4,3,3)
>> c<-c(4,3,3,2,3,4,5,3,3,3,4,4,5,6,3,2)
>>
>> And this is my list of the vectors I'm interested in:
>>
>>   z<-list(c("a","b","c"))
>>
>> Well, this successfully generates the kind of boxplot I want:
>>
>> boxplot(a,b,c)
>>
>> But this does not:
>>
>> boxplot(z)
>>
>> Because I'm trying to write an automatic plot-generator as the amount of
>> data I'm working with will typically vary, I need to write this to handle
>> any number of data vectors.
>>
>> I've tried every imaginable means of tweaking the name of "z", with zero
>> success. And I've scoured the help pages for about 45 minutes (just to
>> preempt any "read the help" responses). Please help!
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Ryan
>>
>> --
>>
>> Ryan Utz, Ph.D.
>> Aquatic Ecologist/STREON Scientist
>> National Ecological Observatory Network
>>
>> Home/Cell: [phone]
>> Work: [phone]
>>
>>          [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>>
>> ______________________________________________
>> [hidden email] mailing list
>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
>> PLEASE do read the posting guide
>> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
>> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>>
>
>
>

--
Please consider the environment before printing this email.
NIWA is the trading name of the National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd.

______________________________________________
[hidden email] mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.

[William Dunlap]

If you have already made numeric vectors called "a", "b", and "c"
   a <- 1:10
   b <- sqrt(1:200)
   c <- log2(1:500)
and a character vector "z" containing their names
   z <- c("a", "b", "c")
then make a list containing the data with them with
   dataList <- lapply(z, get, envir=environment())
   names(dataList) <- z
and make your boxplots with
   boxplot(dataList)

Then forget about using the variables "a", "b", and "c"
and use dataList[["a"]], dataList[["b"]], etc. instead.
You may want to use a shorter name than dataList.

Bill Dunlap
Spotfire, TIBCO Software
wdunlap tibco.com

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Ryan Utz
> Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 3:15 PM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [R] Boxplot of multiple vectors with different lengths
>
> Thanks for the help, everyone. However, no solution yet...
>
> My vectors names are neatly stored in a character vector of their own. This
> happens based on how they were imported. So, say I have vectors a, b and c,
> all with numeric-only contents. Then I have another vector, say z, that
> looks like this:
>
> z<-c("a","b","c")
>
> Is there really no way to tell boxplot to plot the contents of a, b and c
> while only referencing z?! Why is this so difficult?? Again, this is part
> of an automated process, so the number of incoming data sets, etc. will
> vary, which is why I'm seeking a solution this way.
>
>
>
> On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 4:09 PM, Vining, Kelly <[hidden email]
> > wrote:
>
> > Ryan,
> > Do you necessarily have to use "list"? Have you tried the usecols=TRUE
> > option in boxplot?
> >
> > Cheers,
> > --Kelly V.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]]
> > On Behalf Of Ryan Utz
> > Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 1:24 PM
> > To: [hidden email]
> > Subject: [R] Boxplot of multiple vectors with different lengths
> >
> > Hello,
> >
> > I'm attempting to write a code that automatically imports data from
> > different files (with different lengths-just one variable) and makes tidy
> > box plots for comparison. I can successfully import the data and create a
> > list of the vectors I want to compare. But I cannot, for the life of me,
> > figure out how to generate box plots using the "list" option. Suppose these
> > are my data:
> >
> > a<-c(1,1,1,1,2,3,2,1,2,3)
> > b<-c(2,2,2,3,4,4,4,3,3)
> > c<-c(4,3,3,2,3,4,5,3,3,3,4,4,5,6,3,2)
> >
> > And this is my list of the vectors I'm interested in:
> >
> >  z<-list(c("a","b","c"))
> >
> > Well, this successfully generates the kind of boxplot I want:
> >
> > boxplot(a,b,c)
> >
> > But this does not:
> >
> > boxplot(z)
> >
> > Because I'm trying to write an automatic plot-generator as the amount of
> > data I'm working with will typically vary, I need to write this to handle
> > any number of data vectors.
> >
> > I've tried every imaginable means of tweaking the name of "z", with zero
> > success. And I've scoured the help pages for about 45 minutes (just to
> > preempt any "read the help" responses). Please help!
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Ryan
> >
> > --
> >
> > Ryan Utz, Ph.D.
> > Aquatic Ecologist/STREON Scientist
> > National Ecological Observatory Network
> >
> > Home/Cell: [phone]
> > Work: [phone]
> >
> >         [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
> >
> > ______________________________________________
> > [hidden email] mailing list
> > https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> > PLEASE do read the posting guide
> > http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> > and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
> >
>
>
>
> --
>
> Ryan Utz, Ph.D.
> Aquatic Ecologist/STREON Scientist
> National Ecological Observatory Network
>
> Home/Cell: [phone]
> Work: [phone]
>
> [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>
> ______________________________________________
> [hidden email] mailing list
> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.

______________________________________________
[hidden email] mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.

[Ryan Utz-2]

William,

THANK YOU! This nailed it. Very much appreciate the support.

R

On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 6:12 PM, William Dunlap <[hidden email]> wrote:

> If you have already made numeric vectors called "a", "b", and "c"
>   a <- 1:10
>   b <- sqrt(1:200)
>   c <- log2(1:500)
> and a character vector "z" containing their names
>   z <- c("a", "b", "c")
> then make a list containing the data with them with
>   dataList <- lapply(z, get, envir=environment())
>   names(dataList) <- z
> and make your boxplots with
>   boxplot(dataList)
>
> Then forget about using the variables "a", "b", and "c"
> and use dataList[["a"]], dataList[["b"]], etc. instead.
> You may want to use a shorter name than dataList.
>
> Bill Dunlap
> Spotfire, TIBCO Software
> wdunlap tibco.com
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]]
> On Behalf Of Ryan Utz
> > Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 3:15 PM
> > To: [hidden email]
> > Subject: Re: [R] Boxplot of multiple vectors with different lengths
> >
> > Thanks for the help, everyone. However, no solution yet...
> >
> > My vectors names are neatly stored in a character vector of their own.
> This
> > happens based on how they were imported. So, say I have vectors a, b and
> c,
> > all with numeric-only contents. Then I have another vector, say z, that
> > looks like this:
> >
> > z<-c("a","b","c")
> >
> > Is there really no way to tell boxplot to plot the contents of a, b and c
> > while only referencing z?! Why is this so difficult?? Again, this is part
> > of an automated process, so the number of incoming data sets, etc. will
> > vary, which is why I'm seeking a solution this way.
> >
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 4:09 PM, Vining, Kelly <
> [hidden email]
> > > wrote:
> >
> > > Ryan,
> > > Do you necessarily have to use "list"? Have you tried the usecols=TRUE
> > > option in boxplot?
> > >
> > > Cheers,
> > > --Kelly V.
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: [hidden email] [mailto:
> [hidden email]]
> > > On Behalf Of Ryan Utz
> > > Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 1:24 PM
> > > To: [hidden email]
> > > Subject: [R] Boxplot of multiple vectors with different lengths
> > >
> > > Hello,
> > >
> > > I'm attempting to write a code that automatically imports data from
> > > different files (with different lengths-just one variable) and makes
> tidy
> > > box plots for comparison. I can successfully import the data and
> create a
> > > list of the vectors I want to compare. But I cannot, for the life of
> me,
> > > figure out how to generate box plots using the "list" option. Suppose
> these
> > > are my data:
> > >
> > > a<-c(1,1,1,1,2,3,2,1,2,3)
> > > b<-c(2,2,2,3,4,4,4,3,3)
> > > c<-c(4,3,3,2,3,4,5,3,3,3,4,4,5,6,3,2)
> > >
> > > And this is my list of the vectors I'm interested in:
> > >
> > >  z<-list(c("a","b","c"))
> > >
> > > Well, this successfully generates the kind of boxplot I want:
> > >
> > > boxplot(a,b,c)
> > >
> > > But this does not:
> > >
> > > boxplot(z)
> > >
> > > Because I'm trying to write an automatic plot-generator as the amount
> of
> > > data I'm working with will typically vary, I need to write this to
> handle
> > > any number of data vectors.
> > >
> > > I've tried every imaginable means of tweaking the name of "z", with
> zero
> > > success. And I've scoured the help pages for about 45 minutes (just to
> > > preempt any "read the help" responses). Please help!
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > > Ryan
> > >
> > > --
> > >
> > > Ryan Utz, Ph.D.
> > > Aquatic Ecologist/STREON Scientist
> > > National Ecological Observatory Network
> > >
> > > Home/Cell: [phone]
> > > Work: [phone]
> > >
> > >         [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
> > >
> > > ______________________________________________
> > > [hidden email] mailing list
> > > https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> > > PLEASE do read the posting guide
> > > http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> > > and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> > Ryan Utz, Ph.D.
> > Aquatic Ecologist/STREON Scientist
> > National Ecological Observatory Network
> >
> > Home/Cell: [phone]
> > Work: [phone]
> >
> >       [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
> >
> > ______________________________________________
> > [hidden email] mailing list
> > https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> > PLEASE do read the posting guide
> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> > and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>

--

Ryan Utz, Ph.D.
Aquatic Ecologist/STREON Scientist
National Ecological Observatory Network

Home/Cell: [phone]
Work: [phone]

        [[alternative HTML version deleted]]

______________________________________________
[hidden email] mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.

[William Dunlap]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Trevor Carey-
> Smith
> Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 4:22 PM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [R] Boxplot of multiple vectors with different lengths
>
> On 12/13/2011 12:14 PM, Ryan Utz wrote:
> > My vectors names are neatly stored in a character vector of their own. This
> > happens based on how they were imported. So, say I have vectors a, b and c,
> > all with numeric-only contents. Then I have another vector, say z, that
> > looks like this:
> >
> > z<-c("a","b","c")
> >
> > Is there really no way to tell boxplot to plot the contents of a, b and c
> > while only referencing z?!
>
> here is one solution if I understand your requirement:
>
> aa <- rnorm(20)
> bb <- runif(30)
> cc <- rexp(40)
> z <- c("aa","bb","cc")
> l <- lapply(z,get)
> boxplot(l)
>
> Although as Sarah said, this will fail if you use 'c' as a variable name
> as the list would then contain the function c() rather than the variable
> you previously defined.

That is why my almost identical suggestion added the
argument envir=environment() to the lapply command.
It makes get() look in the caller-of-lapply's environment
first so it picks up the local c.

Bill Dunlap
Spotfire, TIBCO Software
wdunlap tibco.com

>
> Regards,
> Trevor
>
> > Why is this so difficult?? Again, this is part
> > of an automated process, so the number of incoming data sets, etc. will
> > vary, which is why I'm seeking a solution this way.
> >
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 4:09 PM, Vining, Kelly<[hidden email]
> >> wrote:
> >
> >> Ryan,
> >> Do you necessarily have to use "list"? Have you tried the usecols=TRUE
> >> option in boxplot?
> >>
> >> Cheers,
> >> --Kelly V.
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]]
> >> On Behalf Of Ryan Utz
> >> Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 1:24 PM
> >> To: [hidden email]
> >> Subject: [R] Boxplot of multiple vectors with different lengths
> >>
> >> Hello,
> >>
> >> I'm attempting to write a code that automatically imports data from
> >> different files (with different lengths-just one variable) and makes tidy
> >> box plots for comparison. I can successfully import the data and create a
> >> list of the vectors I want to compare. But I cannot, for the life of me,
> >> figure out how to generate box plots using the "list" option. Suppose these
> >> are my data:
> >>
> >> a<-c(1,1,1,1,2,3,2,1,2,3)
> >> b<-c(2,2,2,3,4,4,4,3,3)
> >> c<-c(4,3,3,2,3,4,5,3,3,3,4,4,5,6,3,2)
> >>
> >> And this is my list of the vectors I'm interested in:
> >>
> >>   z<-list(c("a","b","c"))
> >>
> >> Well, this successfully generates the kind of boxplot I want:
> >>
> >> boxplot(a,b,c)
> >>
> >> But this does not:
> >>
> >> boxplot(z)
> >>
> >> Because I'm trying to write an automatic plot-generator as the amount of
> >> data I'm working with will typically vary, I need to write this to handle
> >> any number of data vectors.
> >>
> >> I've tried every imaginable means of tweaking the name of "z", with zero
> >> success. And I've scoured the help pages for about 45 minutes (just to
> >> preempt any "read the help" responses). Please help!
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >> Ryan
> >>
> >> --
> >>
> >> Ryan Utz, Ph.D.
> >> Aquatic Ecologist/STREON Scientist
> >> National Ecological Observatory Network
> >>
> >> Home/Cell: [phone]
> >> Work: [phone]
> >>
> >>          [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
> >>
> >> ______________________________________________
> >> [hidden email] mailing list
> >> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> >> PLEASE do read the posting guide
> >> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> >> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> --
> Please consider the environment before printing this email.
> NIWA is the trading name of the National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd.
>
> ______________________________________________
> [hidden email] mailing list
> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.

______________________________________________
[hidden email] mailing list
https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.