Integers

We have discussed the numeric class. We just saw that the seq function can generate objects of this class. For another example, type

class(seq(1, 10, 0.5))

into the console and note that the class is numeric. R has another type of vector we have not described, the integer class. You can create an integer by adding the letter L after a whole number. If you type

class(3L)

in the console, you see this is an integer and not a numeric. For most practical purposes, integers and numerics are indistinguishable. For example 3, the integer, minus 3 the numeric is 0. To see this type this in the console

3L - 3

The main difference is that integers occupy less space in the computer memory, so for big computations using integers can have a substantial impact.