> Formatting strings > Detecting matches

Working with text data in R # Format numbers with sprintf()

sprintf("%.3e", pi) # "3.142e+00"

# Highlight string matches in HTML widget with str_view_all()

str_view_all(suits, "[ae]")

Clubs

# Substitute value in a string with an expression
Diamonds

Learn R online at www.DataCamp.com glue('The answer is {ans}', ans = 30 + 10) # The answer is 40

Hearts

Spades
# Substitute value in a string with an expression

cards <- data.frame(value = c("8", "Queen", "Ace"),

# Detect if a regex pattern is present in strings with str_detect()

suit = c("Diamonds", "Hearts", "Spades"))

str_detect(suits, "[ae]") # FALSE TRUE TRUE TRUE

> Packages to install for this cheat sheet cards %>% glue_data("{value} of {suit}")


# Find the index of strings that match a regex with str_which()

str_which(suits, "[ae]") # 2 3 4

# 8 of Diamonds

# Queen of Hearts

Some functionality from this cheat sheet comes with base-R, but the following packages are also used # Count the number of matches with str_count()

throughout this cheat sheet. # Ace of Spades

str_count(suits, "[ae]") # 0 1 2 2

library(stringr)
# Wrap strings across multiple lines
# Locate the position of matches within strings with str_locate()

library(snakecase)
str_wrap('The answer to the universe is 42', width = 25)
str_locate(suits, "[ae]")

library(glue) # The answer to the

# start end

# universe is 42 # [1,] NA NA

Functions with names starting str_ are from stringr; those with names starting to_ are from snakecase;
those with glue in the name are from glue. # [2,] 3 3

# [3,] 2 2

# [4,] 3 3

> Splitting strings

> Example data > Extracting matches
# Split strings into list of characters with str_split(pattern = "")

Throughout this cheat sheet, we’ll be using this vector containing the following strings. str_split(suits, pattern = "")


# Extract matches from strings with str_extract()

suits <- c("Clubs", "Diamonds", "Hearts", "Spades")

# "C" "l" "u" "b" "s"
str_extract(suits, ".[ae].") # NA "iam" "Hea" "pad"

# "D" "i" "a" "m" "o" "n" "d" "s"

# "H" "e" "a" "r" "t" "s"

# Extract matches and capture groups with str_match()

str_match(suits, ".([ae])(.)")


> Get string lengths and substrings

# "S" "p" "a" "d" "e" "s"


# Split strings by a separator with str_split()

# [,1] [,2] [,3]

str_split(suits, pattern = "a")


# [1,] NA NA NA

# Get the number of characters with nchar()

# [2,] "iam" "a" "m"

nchar(suits) # Returns 5 8 6 6

# [3,] "Hea" "e" "a"

# "Clubs"

# [4,] "pad" "a" "d"

# Get substrings by position with str_sub()

# "Di" "monds"

stringr::str_sub(suits, 1, 4) # Returns "Club" "Diam" "Hear" "Spad"

# "He" "rts"

# Get subset of strings that match with str_subset()

# "Sp" "des"


str_subset(suits, "d") # "Diamonds" "Spades"

# Remove whitespace from the start/end with str_trim()

str_trim(" Lost in Whitespace ") # Returns "Lost in Whitespace"

# Split strings into matrix of n pieces with str_split_fixed()

str_split_fixed(suits, pattern = 'a', n = 2)


> Replacing matches

# Truncate strings to a maximum width with str_trunc()

str_trunc(suits, width = 5) # Returns "Clubs" "Di..." "He..." "Sp..."

# [,1] [,2]

# [1,] "Clubs" ""

# Pad strings to a constant width with str_pad()

# [2,] "Di" "monds"

str_pad(suits, width = 8) # Returns " Clubs" "Diamonds" " Hearts" " Spades"

# Replace a regex match with another string with str_replace()

# [3,] "He" "rts"

str_replace(suits, "a", "4") # "Clubs" "Di4monds" "He4rts" "Sp4des"

# Pad strings on right with str_pad(side="right")

# [4,] "Sp" "des"
str_pad(suits, width = 8, side = "right", pad = "!")
# Remove a match with str_remove()

# Returns "Clubs!!!" "Diamonds" "Hearts!!" "Spades!!"

str_remove(suits, "s") # "Club" "Diamond" "Heart" "Spade"

> Joining or concatenating strings # Replace a substring with `str_sub<-`()

str_sub(suits, start = 1, end = 3) <- c("Bi", "Al", "Yu", "Hi")

suits # Returns "Bibs" "Almonds" "Yurts" "Hides"

> Changing case # Combine two strings with paste0()

paste0(suits, '5') # "Clubs5" "Diamonds5" "Hearts5" "Spades5"

# Convert to lowercase with tolower()

# Combine strings with a separator with paste()

tolower(suits) # Returns "clubs" "diamonds" "hearts" "spades"


paste(5, suits, sep = " of ") # "5 of Clubs" "5 of Diamonds" "5 of Hearts" "5 of
Spades"

# Convert to uppercase with toupper()

toupper(suits) # Returns "CLUBS" "DIAMONDS" "HEARTS" "SPADES"


Learn R Online at
# Collapse character vector to string with paste() or paste0()

paste(suits, collapse = ", ") # "Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades"

www.DataCamp.com
# Convert to title case with to_title_case()

to_title_case("hello, world!") # Returns "Hello, World!"


# Duplicate and concatenate strings with str_dup()

# Convert to sentence case with to_sentence_case()

str_dup(suits, 2) # "ClubsClubs" "DiamondsDiamonds" "HeartsHearts"
to_sentence_case("hello, world!") # Returns "Hello, world!" "SpadesSpades"