What is the R for Loop used for?

The for loop in R is used to iterate over a sequence of elements, such as vectors, lists, or ranges, and execute a block of code for each element. It’s commonly used when you need to perform repetitive tasks on collections of data, such as processing elements of a vector or generating a series of calculations.

# Example of a for loop to print elements of a vector
numbers <- c(1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

for (number in numbers) {
    print(number)
}

# Output:
# [1] 1
# [1] 2
# [1] 3
# [1] 4
# [1] 5

In this example, the loop iterates over each element of the numbers vector and prints it. The for loop is a versatile construct that simplifies the process of iterating over data structures and applying operations to each element.

By using a for loop, you can efficiently handle repetitive tasks, such as data manipulation, filtering, or generating reports, making it an essential tool in R programming.