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rcommand-lineargumentswindowrscript

How can I pass arguments to an Rscript i have in my desktop?


I have a rscript (file.r) in my desktop which contains a function. I need to call this function from Windows command prompt and pass arguments to it, I have found this way but i don't understand how it's used, like what does it mean?
I already have the R's shell but i need to do it from Windows command prompt, not R's itself

args <- commandArgs(trailingOnly = TRUE)

Solution

  • You have your R script (test.R), for example:

    #commandArgs picks up the variables you pass from the command line
    args <- commandArgs(trailingOnly = TRUE)
    print(args)
    

    Then you run your script from the command line using:

    #here the arguments are 5 and 6 that will be picked from args in the script
    PS C:\Users\TB\Documents> Rscript .\test.R 5 6
    [1] "5"      "6"
    

    Then what you get back is a vector containing 2 elements, i.e. 5 and 6. trailingOnly = TRUE makes sure you just get back 5 and 6 as the arguments. If you omit it then the variable args will also contain some details about the call:

    Check this for example. My R script is:

    args <- commandArgs()
    print(args)
    

    And the call returns:

    PS C:\Users\TB\Documents> Rscript .\test.R 5 6
    [1] "C:\\Users\\TB\\scoop\\apps\\anaconda3\\current\\lib\\R\\bin\\x64\\Rterm.exe"
    [2] "--slave"
    [3] "--no-restore"
    [4] "--file=.\\test.R"
    [5] "--args"
    [6] "5"
    [7] "6"
    

    I didn't include the trailingOnly = TRUE here and I got some call details returned as well.