Raise to power in R

This is a beginner's question.

1. What's the difference between ^ and **? For example:

   2 ^ 10 [1] 1024 2 ** 10 [1] 1024 

2. Is there a function such as power(x,y)?

1 Answer

1: No difference. It is kept around to allow old S-code to continue to function. This is documented a "Note" in ?Math?Arithmetic

2: Yes: But you already know it:

`^`(x,y) #[1] 1024 

In R the mathematical operators are really functions that the parser takes care of rearranging arguments and function names for you to simulate ordinary mathematical infix notation. Also documented at ?Math.

Edit: Let me add that knowing how R handles infix operators (i.e. two argument functions) is very important in understanding the use of the foundational infix "[[" and "["-functions as (functional) second arguments to lapply and sapply:

> sapply( list( list(1,2,3), list(4,3,6) ), "[[", 1) [1] 1 4 > firsts <- function(lis) sapply(lis, "[[", 1) > firsts( list( list(1,2,3), list(4,3,6) ) ) [1] 1 4