Question

I have defined a function called once as follows:

once <- function(x, value) {
    xname <- deparse(substitute(x))
    if(!exists(xname)) {
        assign(xname, value, env=parent.frame())
    }
    invisible()
}

The idea is that value is time-consuming to evaluate, and I only want to assign it to x the first time I run a script.

> z
Error: object 'z' not found
> once(z, 3)
> z
[1] 3

I’d really like the usage to be once(x) <- value rather than once(x, value), but if I write a function once<- it gets upset that the variable doesn’t exist:

> once(z) <- 3
Error in once(z) <- 3 : object 'z' not found

Does anyone have a way around this?

ps: is there a name to describe functions like once<- or in general f<-?

Answer 1

As per item 3.4.4 in the R Language Reference, something like a names replacement is evaluated like this:

 `*tmp*` <- x
 x <- "names<-"(`*tmp*`, value=c("a","b"))
 rm(`*tmp*`)

This is bad news for your requirement, because the assignment will fail on the first line (as x is not found), and even if it would work, your deparse(substitute) call will never evaluate to what you want it to.

Sorry to disappoint you