Data Types

R supports many data types, each with different uses and characteristics. Variables can hold different data types, and are not limited to storing the data type they were initially assigned.

# This is legal in R

# Assign an integer data type
var1 <- 1L

# Assign a string data type
var1 <- "Hello world!"

R supports the following basic data types:

• The numeric type for whole numbers or decimals. (5.12, 16)
• The integer type for whole numbers followed by an L. (100L)
• The complex type for numbers with an imaginary part, denoted by an i. (5 + 7i)
• The character type for strings of characters. (“Hello World!”)
• The logical for Boolean values. (TRUE or FALSE)

The class() function can be used to determine the data type of a variable.

x <- 3 + 2i
class(x) # Output: "complex"

x <- 100
class(x) # Output: "numeric"

x <- 100L
class(x) # Output: "integer"