Import Statements

📦 R comes with many built-in packages and allows you to install and use external libraries. To access functions from packages, you use import statements like library() or require().

library() to Load a Package

Use library() to load an installed package.

require() as an Alternative

require() works similarly to library() but returns a logical value.

Aliasing with ::

Use package::function to access a function without loading the entire package.

You can also chain it in pipe workflows:

Loading All Functions with attach()

This is not commonly recommended, but attach() makes all variables from a dataset or list directly accessible.

Avoid attach() in production—it can cause name conflicts and unexpected behavior.

Importing Custom Scripts

Use source() to run R code from another file.

Suppose you have a file myutils.R with the following content:

|_ myutils.R <- here
# myutils.R
greet <- function() {
print("Hello from myutils!")
}

Then in your main script:

|- myutils.R
|_ analysis.R <- here
# myutils.R
source("myutils.R")
greet()  
[1] "Hello from myutils!"

Common Errors

Some frequent errors encountered when dealing with import statements in R.