2.6. Vectorized Operations

Suppose we have a function f() that we wish to apply to all elements of a vector x. In many cases, we can accomplish this by simply calling f() on x itself. This can really simplify our code and, moreover, give us a dramatic performance increase of hundredsfold or more.

One of the most effective ways to achieve speed in R code is to use operations that are vectorized, meaning that a function applied to a vector is actually applied individually to each element.