relationsforR

relationsforR is an open-source R package that provides a framework for modeling and manipulating mathematical and data-driven relations within R. It treats a relation as a set of ordered tuples over a fixed schema and exposes a compact API inspired by relational algebra and database theory. The package targets researchers and data scientists who require formal reasoning about relationships among data, as well as practical tools for relational data preparation and analysis within the R ecosystem.

Core capabilities include creating relations from data frames or lists, validating schema, and performing standard relational operations such as union, intersection, and difference. It also implements relational operators commonly used in queries, including projection, selection, and various join types (natural and equi-join). Additional facilities cover transitive closure, reflexive closure, and inference through composition, enabling users to derive new relations from existing ones in a principled manner.

Relation objects integrate with ordinary R data structures and tidyverse workflows, supporting conversions to and from data frames and tibble objects. The backend emphasizes efficiency for sparse relations and aims to interoperate with other analysis tools and storage backends via a lightweight API.

Typical workflows begin with constructing relations from datasets, applying a sequence of algebraic operations, and exporting results to data frames for visualization. For instance, one can create two relations, perform a natural join, and project a subset of columns to obtain a result suitable for reporting. The package also provides utilities to inspect relation properties such as reflexivity or symmetry.