Assignment (<- not =)

[jaaan-t]

In style/syntax.qmd under Assignment it says: Use <-, not =, for assignment.

Why, though? An explanation would be helpful, especially for newcomers. <- seems unnecessary bordering on obtuse to people coming from other languages, so giving them a good explanation might help to enforce this suggestion.

[IndrajeetPatil]

Others will probably chime in, but here is one reference to support this rule:

cf. https://www.burns-stat.com/pages/Tutor/R_inferno.pdf#page=94.19

[MichaelChirico]

Worth noting that the style guide also discourages implicit assignment:

style/syntax.qmd

Lines 283 to 286 in 315943b

	# Bad
	if (nzchar(x <- complicated_function()) < 1) {
	# do something
	}

So the above example already violates the guide.