[R-users] notable 1.7.x change

[Tim Hoar]

After having just installed R 1.7.0 for the linux machines in our division,

I poked through the "...what's new ... " link and was delighted to find
(among others):

...
    o	The assignment operator `_' will be removed in the next
	release and users are now warned on every usage: you may even see
	multiple warnings for each usage.

	If environment variable R_NO_UNDERLINE is set to anything of
	positive length then use of `_' becomes a syntax error.

    o	machine(), Machine() and Platform() are defunct.

    o	restart() is defunct.  Use try(), as has long been recommended.
...


I have hated the "_" syntax since day 1. Several/many versions ago
they started supporting "=" on the command line, and I have never looked
back. You might as well start changing them now ...


Just a head's up.


## Tim Hoar, Associate Scientist              email: thoar@ucar.edu     ##
## Geophysical Statistics Project             phone: 303-497-1708       ##
## National Center for Atmospheric Research   FAX  : 303-497-1333       ##
## Boulder, CO  80307                    http://www.cgd.ucar.edu/~thoar ##