R : Convert object of type closure (= function) to string, inside a function

Question

If I want to get the name of a function (as a string) I can do this:

as.character(quote(mean))
#> [1] "mean"

Or this:

as.character(substitute(mean))
#> [1] "mean"

However this doesn't work if I try to get the function name inside another function.

e.g.

print_fun <- function (fun) {
  function_name <- as.character(quote(fun))
  print(function_name)
}
  print_fun(mean)
#> [1] "fun"

What I am doing wrong?

Dharman · Accepted Answer · 2020-11-11 12:43:25Z

2

you just need to substitute quote by substitute.

print_fun <- function (fun) {
  function_name <- as.character(substitute(fun))
  print(function_name)
}
print_fun(mean)

#> [1] "mean"

Dharman♦

34k27 gold badges106 silver badges157 bronze badges

answered Nov 11, 2020 at 12:37

1,9662 gold badges11 silver badges35 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

2 Comments

Thanks, I was stupid not to try that out I guess. This is what stress does to you.

Thanks, I just learned a bit more about how stackoverflow works :)