The first step in strategic selection is understanding the fundamental divide in R’s approach to objects:
Reference Classes are built into base R and function similarly to R6 but are built on top of S4.
Encapsulation (private vs. public fields); reference semantics (modify objects in-place); method chaining. Advanced Object-Oriented Programming in R: Stat...
Strict type checking; multiple dispatch (methods can choose logic based on multiple arguments). Cons: High "ceremony" and steep learning curve. 3. R6: The Modern Powerhouse
Massive, interconnected systems like the Bioconductor project where data integrity is paramount. The first step in strategic selection is understanding
Methods belong to generic functions , not the objects themselves. When you call plot(x) , R looks at the class of x and decides which plot method to run.
Advanced Object-Oriented Programming in R: Strategic Selection Strict type checking; multiple dispatch (methods can choose
90% of R tasks, especially providing print() , summary() , or plot() methods for new data types. Pros: Minimal boilerplate; easy to learn; highly flexible.