This is was something like a request for your comments, thoughts
on the topic...
Many of you will know that the "..." (aka \dots) argument is
very useful for passing ``further graphical parameters'',
but can be a pain when itself is passed to too many plotting
functions inside your own function.
An artificial example being
myplot <- function(x,y, ...) {
plot(0:1, 0:1, type = "n", axes = FALSE)
result <- <<do stuff with x,y>>
points(result, ...)
axis(1, ...)
axis(2, ...)
title(...)
}
It's clear that some things in "..." can be passed to title() and
some to axis(), etc.
Of course the above is really silly, but I have a situation
where I'd like to see if something, say, `myarg' is part of "..."
{piece of cake easy, see below} but then I want to *eliminate*
it from "..." such that I can pass "..." down to other functions
which would want to see a `myarg' argument.
Something like
if("myarg" %in% (naml <- names(list(...)))) {
## ok, it's there, take it out
marg <- list(...)$ marg
## what I now would like is
... <- unlist( list(...)["myarg" != naml] )
}
BTW: one relatively ugly workaround is to use the above *list*
say nlist <- list(...)["myarg" != naml]
and do all subsequent call where I'd had "..." as
do.call( <funname> , c(list( <<other args to funnname>> ), nlist))
but this really obfuscates the code horrendously.
PS:
I know that using a pars = list(.) argument instead of "..."
is another alternative (that we have been using) as well,
but lets assume this can't be done, because of compatibility reasons.
Martin Maechler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://stat.ethz.ch/~maechler/
Seminar fuer Statistik, ETH-Zentrum LEO C16 Leonhardstr. 27
ETH (Federal Inst. Technology) 8092 Zurich SWITZERLAND
phone: x-41-1-632-3408 fax: ...-1228 <><
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