Callbacks

The R C-API allows front-end developpers to customize R’s interactive behavior to their needs using callbacks, and rpy2 is making those callbacks accessible with the ability to implement them in pure Python. In other words, rpy2 makes it possible to implement a completely an R front-end such as RStudio.

Console I/O

During an interactive session, much of the communication between R and the user happen through the console. How the console reads input and writes output, can be defined through callback functions.

Read console

The function “read console” is called whenever console input is expected.

The default callback for inputing data is rpy2.rinterface_lib.callbacks.consoleread()

rpy2.rinterface_lib.callbacks.consoleread(prompt)

Any Python function with the same signature can be used instead. For example:

def  my_consoleread(prompt: str) -> str:
    custom_prompt = '???' + prompt
    return input(custom_prompt)

rpy2.rinterface_lib.callbacks.consoleread = my_consoleread

Write console

The function “write console” is called whenever output is sent to the R console. In R’s C API, there are two functions behind the hood, one for regular printing, and one for warnings and errors.

rpy2.rinterface_lib.callbacks.consolewrite_print(x)

rpy2.rinterface_lib.callbacks.consolewrite_warnerror(x)

An example should make it obvious:

buf = []
def f(x):
    # function that append its argument to the list 'buf'
    buf.append(x)

# output from the R console will now be appended to the list 'buf'
consolewrite_print_backup = rpy2.rinterface_lib.callbacks.consolewrite_print
rpy2.rinterface_lib.callbacks.consolewrite_print = f

date = rinterface.baseenv['date']
rprint = rinterface.baseenv['print']
rprint(date())

# the output is in our list (as defined in the function f above)
print(buf)

# restore default function
rpy2.rinterface_lib.callbacks.consolewrite_print = consolewrite_print_backup

rpy2.rinterface_lib.callbacks.consolewrite_print(x)

Flush console

The function “flush console” is called whenever output is sent to the R console.

rpy2.rinterface_lib.callbacks.consoleflush()

Files

Showing files

Choosing files

File choosing a on basic R console has very little bells and whistles.

def choose_csv(prompt):
    print(prompt)
    return(filename)

Other

Clean up

When asked to terminate, through either its terminal console win32 or quartz GUI front-end, R will perform a cleanup operation at the begining of which whether the user wants to save the workspace or not.

What is happening during that cleaning step can be specified through a callback function that will take three parameters saveact, status, and runlast, return of 1 (save the workspace), 0 (do not save the workspace), and None (cancel the exit/cleanup, raising an RRuntimeError).

import rpy2.rinterface

rpy2.rinterface.initr()

rquit = rpy2.rinterface.baseenv['q']

def my_cleanup(saveact, status, runlast):
    # cancel all attempts to quit R programmatically
    print("One can't escape...")
    return None

>>> orig_cleanup = rpy2.rinterface_lib.callbacks.cleanup
>>> rpy2.rinterface_lib.callbacks.cleanup = my_cleanup
>>> rquit()

Restore the original cleanup:

>>> rpy2.rinterface_lib.callbacks.cleanup = orig_cleanup