# R: Formal Methods and Classes

methods-package {methods} | R Documentation

## Formal Methods and Classes

### Description

Formally defined methods and classes for R objects, plus other programming tools, as described in the references.

### Details

This package provides the ‘S4’ or ‘S version 4’ approach to methods and classes in a functional language.

For a complete list of functions and classes, use `library(help="methods")`.

### Author(s)

R Development Core Team

Maintainer: R Core Team R-core@r-project.org

### References

The R package methods implements, with a few exceptions, the programming interface for classes and methods in the book Programming with Data (John M. Chambers, Springer, 1998), in particular sections 1.6, 2.7, 2.8, and chapters 7 and 8.

While the programming interface for the methods package follows the reference, the R software is an original implementation, so details in the reference that reflect the S4 implementation may appear differently in R. Also, there are extensions to the programming interface developed more recently than the reference. For a discussion of details see `?Methods` and the links from that documentation.

[Package methods version 2.6.0 Index]