R in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

Expressions

R provides different constructs for grouping together expressions: semicolons, parentheses, and curly braces.

Separating Expressions

You can write a series of expressions on separate lines:

> x <- 1
> y <- 2
> z <- 3

Alternatively, you can place them on the same line, separated by semicolons:

> x <- 1; y <- 2; z <- 3

Parentheses

The parentheses notation returns the result of evaluating the expression inside the parentheses:

(expression)

The operator has the same precedence as a function call. In fact, grouping a set of expressions inside parentheses is equivalent to evaluating a function of one argument that just returns its argument:

> 2 * (5 + 1)
[1] 12
> # equivalent expression
> f <- function (x) x
> 2 * f(5 + 1)
[1] 12

Grouping expressions with parentheses can be used to override the default order of operations. For example:

> 2 * 5 + 1
[1] 11
> 2 * (5 + 1)
[1] 12

Curly Braces

Curly braces are used to evaluate a series of expressions (separated by new lines or semicolons) and return only the last expression:

{expression_1; expression_2; ... expression_n}

Often, curly braces are used to group a set of operations in the body of a function:

> f <- function() {x <- 1; y <- 2; x + y}
> f()
[1] 3

However, curly braces can also be used as expressions in other contexts:

> {x <- 1; y <- 2; x + y}
[1] 3

The contents of the curly braces are evaluated inside the current environment; a new environment is created by a function call but not by the use of curly braces:

> # when evaluated in a function, ...