String Handling and Text Processing in R

Key takeaway: Practice R with 53+ runnable code examples — vectors, strings, math, data frames, recursion, and sampling — with expected output to verify instantly.

R is a programming language for statistical computing and data analysis. These examples are for data science students, researchers, analysts, and anyone learning R for coursework or work projects.

Last updated: August 2026 · 53 examples · All platforms

Quick Start

  1. Select a topic from the sidebar
  2. Study the code and expected output
  3. Run with Rscript file.R or paste into RStudio
  4. Modify inputs to experiment and learn

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R Program to Extract n Characters From a String
Output — Extracts a substring using substr.
[1] "Program"
R "Hello World" Program
Output — Prints a greeting using base R.
[1] "Hello, World!"
R Program to Take Input From User
Output — Reads a value from console using readline and prints it.
Enter your name: Alice
You entered: Alice
R Program to Concatenate Two Strings
Output — Concatenates strings using paste0.
[1] "Hello World"
R Program to Find the Length of a String
Output — Returns character count using nchar.
[1] 10
R Program to Check if Characters are Present in a String
Output — Checks presence using grepl.
[1] TRUE
R Program to Replace Characters in a String
Output — Replaces matching characters using gsub.
[1] "hexxo"
R Program to Compare two Strings
Output — Compares strings lexically ignoring case.
[1] TRUE
R Program to Convert Factors to Characters
Output — Converts a factor vector to character.
[1] "a" "b" "a"
R Program to Extract Columns From a Dataframe
Output — Selects specific columns.
  name
1  Ann
2  Bob
R Program to Concatenate a Vector of Strings
Output — Concatenates using paste with collapse.
[1] "a,b,c"
R Program to Trim Leading and Trailing Whitespaces
Output — Trims spaces using trimws.
[1] "Hello World"

Frequently Asked Questions

Use Rscript from your terminal. Install R from CRAN, save as main.R, run Rscript main.R. Or use RStudio.

No, base R only. All examples use built-in functions for maximum portability.

Yes, absolutely. Copy, tweak inputs, observe outputs — experimentation is the fastest way to learn.

Yes, fully cross-platform. R runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Works with R 3.6+.

Learn R the Practical Way

R ranks among the top 20 languages on the TIOBE Index, dominant in academia and data science.

Topics Covered

  • Vectors, lists, and data frames
  • String manipulation and text processing
  • Math, statistics, and random sampling
  • Control flow — if/else, for, while
  • Recursion and custom functions
  • File I/O and formatted output

Who Is This For?

  • Data science students — coursework and R-based exams
  • Researchers — statistical analysis for papers
  • Analysts — data wrangling skills for work
  • Career switchers — transitioning into data roles

Related:All R Examples · Python Examples · Java Examples