R For Dummies

Chapter 6

Going on a Date with R

In This Chapter

Working with dates in R

Understanding the different ways of representing dates

Throwing time into the mix

Formatting dates and times for pretty printing

Operating on dates and times

All kinds of real-world data are associated with a specific date or instant in time. Companies report results each quarter. Stock markets report closing prices daily. Network analysts measure traffic by the hour (if not by the minute). And of course, scientists measure air temperature, sometimes by the minute, sometimes by the day, and have done so for decades.

Dealing with dates accurately can be a complicated task. You have to account for time-zone differences, leap years, and regional differences in holidays. In addition, people report data differently in different places. For example, what an American would write as “May 12, 2010” or “05-12-10” would be written by someone from the United Kingdom as “12 May 2010” or “12-05-10.” Working with a time instant ...