Functional programming with purrr

Abstract

One of R’s most powerful features is that it’s a functional programming language. purrr is a consistent and efficient toolkit for programming with functions and working with lists. At its heart is map() and friends: functions for the common pattern of iterating over a vector or list, doing something to each element, and then storing the results. These functions let you iterate efficiently and with less code. As Jenny Bryan once said, “of course someone needs to write for loops; it doesn’t have to be you.

Malcolm Barrett

PhD Student in Epidemiology

I am an R developer and a PhD student in Epidemiology at the University of Southern California. My work in public health has spanned on-ground clinical education and research for clinical and cohort studies. Previously, I was an intern at RStudio, and I served two years in AmeriCorps at federally-qualified health centers in Michigan and New York City.