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Apply Function to each Row in R DataFrame

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In this article, we will discuss how to apply a function to each row in a data frame in R Programming Language. Let’s take an example for a better understanding.

Example:

Suppose we have a dummy dataset with A, B, C as column names and some numeric value as rows.

           

    A    

    B   

    C    

1.

5

6

1

2.

6

4

2

3.

7

3

3

4.

5

4

7

5.

6

2

8

6.

9

6

9

And we want to apply a function that will return the product of each row value, then the resultant data frame should look like this:

 

A

B

C

product

1.

5

6

1

60

2.

6

4

2

48

3.

7

3

3

63

4.

5

4

7

140

5.

6

2

8

96

6.

9

6

9

486

Apply function to each row in R Data frame:

Approach: Using apply function

apply() is used to compute a function on a data frame or matrix. The purpose of using apply() function is to avoid the use of looping. apply() function returns output as a vector.

Syntax: apply(x, margin, func)

Parameters:
x: Array or matrix
margin: dimension on which operation is to be applied
func: operation to be applied

Stepwise implementation:

Step 1: Create a dummy dataset.

R




# Apply function to each row in r Dataframe
 
# Creating dataset
# creating first column
x <- c(5, 6, 7, 5, 6, 9)
 
# creating second column
y <- c(6, 4, 3, 4, 2, 6)
 
# creating third column
z <- c(1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9)
 
# creating dataframe
df <- data.frame(A = x, B = y, C = z)
 
display(df)


Output:

  A B C
1 5 6 1
2 6 4 2
3 7 3 3
4 5 4 7
5 6 2 8
6 9 6 9

Step 2: Create a custom function for calculating products. 

R




# creating function to computer product
product = function(x, output){
   
  # accessing elements from first column
  A = x[1]
   
  # accessing elements from second column
  B=x[2]
   
  # accessing elements from third column
  C= x[3]
   
  # return product
  return(A*B*C)
}


 Note: Here we are just defining the function for computing product and not calling, so there will be no output until we call this function. 

Step 3: Use apply the function to compute the product of each row. 

Syntax: (data_frame, 1, function,…)

Now we are calling the newly created product function and returns the product using apply function. 

R




# apply(X,MARGIN,FUN,...)
apply(df,1,product  )


Output:  

[1]  30  48  63 140  96 486

Note: apply() return product as a vector list. So we have to add it to the data frame using cbind (column bind).

Step 4: Append product list to the data frame. 

R




# apply(X,MARGIN,FUN,...)
single <- apply(df,1,product  )
 
# adding product vector to dataframe
cbind(df,product = single)


Output:

Using apply()

Below is the full implementation:

R




# Apply function to each row in r Dataframe
 
# Creating dataset
# creating firs column
x <- c(5,6,7,5,6,9)
 
# creating second column
y <- c(6,4,3,4,2,6)
 
# creating third column
z <- c(1,2,3,7,8,9)
 
# creating dataframe
df <- data.frame(A=x,B=y,C=z)
 
# creating function to computer product
product = function(x,output){
   
  # accessing elements from first column
  A = x[1]
   
  # accessing elements from second column
  B=x[2]
   
  # accessing elements from third column
  C= x[3]
   
  # return product
  return(A*B*C)
}
 
# apply(X,MARGIN,FUN,...)
apply(df,1,product  )
 
# apply(X,MARGIN,FUN,...)
single <- apply(df,1,product  )
 
# adding product vector to dataframe
cbind(df,product = single)


Output:

Using apply()



Last Updated : 28 Feb, 2023
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