How to rename a variable in R without copying the object?

Question

I have a huge data frame loaded in global environment in R named df. How can I rename the data frame without copying the data frame by assigning it to another s

Answer 1

R is smart enough not to make a copy if the variable is the same, so just go ahead, reassign and rm() the original.

Example:

x <- 1:10
tracemem(x)
# [1] "<0000000017181EA8>"
y <- x
tracemem(y)
# [1] "<0000000017181EA8>"

As we can see both objects point to the same address. R makes a new copy in the memory if one of them is modified, i.e.: 2 objects are not identical anymore.

# Now change one of the vectors
y[2] <- 3
# tracemem[0x0000000017181ea8 -> 0x0000000017178c68]: 
# tracemem[0x0000000017178c68 -> 0x0000000012ebe3b0]: 
tracemem(x)
# [1] "<0000000017181EA8>"
tracemem(y)
# [1] "<0000000012EBE3B0>"

Related post: How do I rename an R object?