R: Removing object from parent environment using rm()

Question

Hi,

I am trying to remove an object from the parent environment.

rm_obj <- function(obj){
  a <-deparse(substitute(obj))
  print (a)
  print(ls(envir=sys.frame(-1)))  
  rm(a,envir=sys.frame(-1))
}
> x<-c(1,2,3)
> rm_obj(x)

[1] "x"

[1] "rm_obj" "x"
Warning message: In rm(a, envir = sys.frame(-1)) : object 'a' not found

This will help clarify my misunderstanding regarding frames.

Thanks in advance,

Russ

Answer 1

Your frames are right I think, it's just that rm is trying to remove a itself instead of evaluating a to get the quoted name of the variable to remove. Use the list parameter instead:

rm(list=a,envir=sys.frame(-1))