[datatable-help] data.table - sort key - columns with real numbers

[Short, Tom]

For feature requests, there's a "Feature Request" section on R-forge.
You might even find yours listed.
 
https://r-forge.r-project.org/tracker/?atid=978&group_id=240&func=browse
 
With open-source projects, the best way to get a requested feature is to
become involved. Asking how soon something will be implemented is one of
the worst ways.
 
The easiest way to handle your issue is by converting to factors. It's
not that messy. Even your method shouldn't be that messy with a couple
of conversion functions.
 
In Matthew's recent upgrades, he set up the data.table infrastructure to
better support decimal keys (possibly in the future). The biggest
drawback is probably that grouping would be much slower because the fast
grouping relies on integers with a range less than 100000.
 
- Tom
 
 

________________________________

	From: datatable-help-bounces at lists.r-forge.r-project.org
[mailto:datatable-help-bounces at lists.r-forge.r-project.org] On Behalf Of
Desmond Wee
	Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 11:33
	To: datatable-help at r-forge.wu-wien.ac.at
	Subject: [datatable-help] data.table - sort key - columns with
real numbers
	Importance: High
	
	
	Dear Mathew & Tom,
	 
	I would like to thank you very much for contributing such an
excellent and useful package. I have been trying to write some form of R
codes to overcome some of the limitations data.frame and you have
addressed the issues.
	 
	I have a data table which has columns containing decimal points.
Your current setkey ( ) only allows integer mode and do not allow
decimals. I figured out that to overcome the problem I need to multiple
the column by 10^7 to convert to integer and then to divide by 10^7 to
obtain the actual value. It is a very messy and cumbersome process.
Could you please make changes to allow keys to have real numbers and
maybe other modes too? I would like to suggest that your codes do the
conversions and would make the package more elegant.
	 
	Please inform me whether you will be modifying your package and
how soon will you be attempting to incorporate the changes?
	 
	Thanks again.
	 
	 
	Regards,
	Desmond Wee
	 
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