dump {base} | R Documentation

## Text Representations of R Objects

### Description

This function takes a vector of names of R objects and produces text representations of the objects on a file or connection.

### Usage

    dump(list, file = "dumpdata.R", append = FALSE, envir = parent.frame())

### Arguments

`list` | character. The names of one or more R objects to be dumped.
`file` | either a character string naming a file or a connection. `""` indicates output to the console.
`append` | if `TRUE`, output will be appended to `file`; otherwise, it will overwrite the contents of `file`.
`envir` | the environment to search for objects.

### Details

At present the implementation of `dump` is very incomplete and it really only works for functions and simple vectors and lists.

`dump` will warn if fewer characters were written to a file than expected, which may indicate a full or corrupt file system.

A `dump` file can be `source`d into another R (or perhaps S) session, but the function `save` is designed to be used for transporting R data, and will work with R objects that `dump` does not handle.

### Note

The `envir` argument was added at version 1.7.0, and changed the default search path for named objects to include the environment from which `dump` was called.

As `dump` is defined in the base namespace, the base package will be searched before the global environment unless `dump` is called from the top level or the `envir` argument is given explicitly.

### References

Becker, R. A., Chambers, J. M. and Wilks, A. R. (1988) The New S Language. Wadsworth & Brooks/Cole.

### See Also

`dput`, `dget`, `write`.
`save` for a more reliable way to save R objects.

### Examples

    x <- 1; y <- 1:10
    dump(ls(patt='^[xyz]'), "xyz.Rdmped")
    unlink("xyz.Rdmped")

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