This error occurs when you call the rep function to replicate data, but the value you provide to replicate the number is not a positive real number. You can solve this problem by ensuring that the number is a single, positive real number.
This tutorial will go through the error and how to solve it with code examples.
Table of contents
The rep() Function in R
The rep function replicates elements of vectors and lists. The times parameter of the function needs to be a non-negative number.
Example #1: Using a negative number as the times argument in rep
Consider the following example of using the rep() function to replicate the number 1 four times.
val <- rep(1, 4) val
Let’s run the code to see what happens:
1 1 1 1
We successfully retrieved a numeric vector of length 4 consisting of the number 1.
Let’s try to use a negative number for the times parameter.
val <- rep(1, -4) val
Let’s run the code to see the result:
Error in rep(1, -4) : invalid 'times' argument
The error occurs because we set the times argument to a negative number when it needs to be a non-negative value only.
Solution
We can solve the error by using a positive value for the times argument. Let’s look at the revised code:
val <- rep(1, 4) val
Let’s run the code to see the result:
[1] 1 1 1 1
We successfully retrieved a numeric vector of length 4 consisting of the number 1.
Example #2: Using NA as the times argument in rep
The error can also occur if we use a NA value as the times argument. Consider the following example:
val <- rep(1, NA) val
Let’s run the code to see the result:
Error in rep(1, NA) : invalid 'times' argument
Solution
We can solve this error by replacing the NA value with a valid non-negative number.
val <- rep(1,5) val
Let’s run the code to see the result:
[1] 1 1 1 1 1
We successfully retrieved a numeric vector of length 5 consisting of the number 1.
Summary
Congratulations on reading to the end of this tutorial! If you encounter this error when passing a variable as the times argument in the rep function, check if the value is negative or NA beforehand, then replace it with a valid non-negative number.
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