Source script to separate environment in R, not the global environment

Question

Is there a way to source() a script in R such that it is attached as a parent to the global environment (.GlobalEnv)?

Curr

Answer 1

I'm not sure if my answer is any different from the answers given above, but I use the following code:

if (!exists('.env')) .env <- new.env() # creates an environment in which to store functions
if ('.env' %in% search()) detach(.env) # detaches .env if it already exists; does not "erase" functions previously stored in .env
func <- "filenameWhereSourceCodeIsStored"
source(paste0("C:/Users/JT/R/Functions/", func, ".R"), .env)
attach(.env)

Answer 2

I would also like to a solution using sys.source function. Using envir and toplevel.env arguments allows for convenient (IMHO) bypassing of the global environment. As per the linked documentation:

sys.source [p]arses expressions in the given file, and then successively evaluates them in the specified environment.

tstEnv <- new.env()
sys.source(file = "tst.R", envir = tstEnv, toplevel.env = tstEnv)

where tst.R contains:

a <- 1
b <- 1

Results:

ls(envir = .GlobalEnv)
# [1] "tstEnv"
ls(envir = tstEnv)
# [1] "a" "b"
tstEnv$a
# [1] 1

Answer 3

From the source documentation, the local argument can be an environment which determines where the sourced expressions are evaluated.

This suggests that you could create a new environment, run source passing this environment to local, then attach the environment to the search path.

Or you can use attach with what=NULL to create an empty environment, save the return value, and pass that to local in source:

tmp <- attach(what=NULL)
source('test.R', local=tmp)

or as a single line:

source('test.R', local=attach(NULL))

Answer 4

The following environment insertion appears to achieve the desired functionality:

Check the current search path:

search()
# [1] ".GlobalEnv"        "package:stats"     "package:graphics"
# [4] "package:grDevices" "package:utils"     "package:datasets"
# [7] "package:methods"   "Autoloads"         "package:base"

Add new environment for sourced packages and use local parameter when source()ing:

myEnv <- new.env()    
source("some_other_script.R", local=myEnv)
attach(myEnv, name="sourced_scripts")

Check the search path:

search()
#  [1] ".GlobalEnv"        "sourced_scripts"   "package:dplyr"
#  [4] "package:stats"     "package:graphics"  "package:grDevices"
#  [7] "package:utils"     "package:datasets"  "package:methods"
# [10] "Autoloads"         "package:base"

Note that we attach() the new environment after sourcing, so that dplyr is attached after our script environment in the search path.

Answer 5

The simplest way to source a script as if it was a package (i.e. such that lexical scoping won't result in the use of variables defined in the global environment when calling functions defined in your R script) is to create an environment that that is whose parent is the .BaseNamespaceEnv, and then call source() using that environment.

For example if you have a script like this:

# << my-script.R >>
my_fun <- function(x){x + y}

Then evaluating the following at the console, won't generate an error, as it would if my_fun were defined within it's own package:

source("my-script.R")
y = 2
my_fun(1)
#> 3

However, if you create an environment whose search() path does not include the Global Environment (.GlobalEnv) then you'll get a proper error when you call the function from your script:

# Create the environment:
ENV = new.env(parent = .BaseNamespaceEnv)
# Attache it to the search path so that objects in your environment can be
# found from the global environment (i.e. from the console):
attach(ENV)
# do things:
source("my-script.R",ENV)
y = 2
my_fun(1)
#> Error in .ENV$my_fun(3) : object 'y' not found