How to Avoid Tidy Evaluation in User-Defined Functions in R

Learn how to write user-defined functions in R without using tidy evaluation techniques such as double curly braces. --- This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/76079871/ asked by the user 'Tube' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/19997422/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/76080578/ provided by the user 'Lionel Henry' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/1725177/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions. Visit these links for original content and any more details, such as alternate solutions, latest updates/developments on topic, comments, revision history etc. For example, the original title of the Question was: how to avoid tidy evaluation (especially double curly brace) in user define function in r? Also, Content (except music) licensed under CC BY-SA https://meta.stackexchange.com/help/l... The original Question post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license, and the original Answer post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license. If anything seems off to you, please feel free to write me at vlogize [AT] gmail [DOT] com. --- How to Avoid Tidy Evaluation in User-Defined Functions in R When working with R, particularly with the dplyr package, you might come across a common challenge: how to avoid tidy evaluation, specifically when it involves double curly braces. This often becomes apparent when writing user-defined functions that manipulate data with dplyr. In this guide, we will discuss the problem and offer a solution that allows you to achieve the desired result without using tidy evaluation practices. Understanding the Problem Tidy evaluation in R allows you to capture variable names and expressions using special symbols, such as double curly braces {{ }}. While this methodology is powerful, it may not always align with the preferences of all developers. In this case, a collaborator has requested to remove the double curly braces from the user-defined function add while maintaining its functionality. The Original Function Here is the original implementation of the add function that uses tidy evaluation: [[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]] While this function works as intended, it relies on tidy evaluation, which is not desirable in this scenario. The Solution: Using Standard Evaluation To resolve this issue, we can modify the function to use standard evaluation rather than relying on curly braces. Instead of using {{ }}, we can reference the variables using the syntax .data to create the same functionality. Revised Implementation Here’s how you can rewrite the add function: [[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]] Key Changes Explained Syntax Changes: By using .data[[y_1]] and .data[[y_2]], we avoid the use of tidy evaluation. Quotation Marks: Note that when calling the add function, you should now pass the variable names as strings (i.e., "x" and "y"). Conclusion Removing tidy evaluation from your user-defined functions in R is achievable by leveraging standard evaluation techniques. While it may initially seem complex, using .data to reference your variables will ensure your function behaves as expected without the double curly braces. Understanding these differences is crucial for effective programming in R, especially when collaborating with others who may have differing preferences regarding coding practices. With this guide, you now have a clear path to achieving tidy workflows without compromising on coding flexibility. Thanks for reading, and happy coding!