R Language Hashmaps package:hash
Example
The hash package offers a hash structure in R. However, it terms of timing for both inserts and reads it compares unfavorably to using environments as a hash. This documentation simply acknowledges its existence and provides sample timing code below for the above stated reasons. There is no identified case where hash is an appropriate solution in R code today.
Consider:
# Generic unique string generator
unique_strings <- function(n){
string_i <- 1
string_len <- 1
ans <- character(n)
chars <- c(letters,LETTERS)
new_strings <- function(len,pfx){
for(i in 1:length(chars)){
if (len == 1){
ans[string_i] <<- paste(pfx,chars[i],sep='')
string_i <<- string_i + 1
} else {
new_strings(len-1,pfx=paste(pfx,chars[i],sep=''))
}
if (string_i > n) return ()
}
}
while(string_i <= n){
new_strings(string_len,'')
string_len <- string_len + 1
}
sample(ans)
}
# Generate timings using an enviornment
timingsEnv <- plyr::adply(2^(10:15),.mar=1,.fun=function(i){
strings <- unique_strings(i)
ht1 <- new.env(hash=TRUE)
lapply(strings, function(s){ ht1[[s]] <<- 0L})
data.frame(
size=c(i,i),
seconds=c(
system.time(for (j in 1:i) ht1[[strings[j]]]==0L)[3]),
type = c('1_hashedEnv')
)
})
timingsHash <- plyr::adply(2^(10:15),.mar=1,.fun=function(i){
strings <- unique_strings(i)
ht <- hash::hash()
lapply(strings, function(s) ht[[s]] <<- 0L)
data.frame(
size=c(i,i),
seconds=c(
system.time(for (j in 1:i) ht[[strings[j]]]==0L)[3]),
type = c('3_stringHash')
)
})
