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The Brass Tacks of Julia Programming – Part III

The Brass Tacks of Julia Programming – Part III

Posted June 15, 2022 at 11:30 am
Anshul Tayal
QuantInsti

See Part I for instructions on basic arithmetic operations and Part II for working with matrices

Using R and Python code in Julia

There can be times where you want to use your R or Python code as the libraries to perform certain operations may not be available in Julia.

However, using 2 languages to perform a certain operation can be a challenge. Hence, Julia provides an option to use R and Python code by using the “PyCall” and “RCall” packages.

How to use Python code in Julia

Here’s how you can use your Python code in Julia.


# Install the "PyCall" package for Python
using Pkg
Pkg.add("PyCall")
using PyCall

## Importing numpy package from Python
np = pyimport("numpy")

## Using numpy package in Julia
np.array([1,2,3])
Output:

3-element Vector{Int64}:
1
2
3

How to use R code in Julia

Let’s look at an example of using R in Julia.

# Install "RCall" package for R
Pkg.add("RCall")
using RCall

# There are several ways to call R code

# Method 1
# Calling the mean() function from R
rcall(:mean, [1,2,3])

# Method 2 for user-defined functions
R"""
power_4 <- function(x)
{
return(x^4)
}"""
    
## Calling the defined function
rcall(:power_4, 5)
Output:

RObject{RealSxp}
[1] 2
RObject{RealSxp}
[1] 625

For further details on using the RCall package, you can refer here.


Python vs Julia – Comparison of syntax for basic operations

FeaturePythonJulia
Column vector[1, 2, 3][1,2,3]
Row vector[[1], [2], [3]][1 2 3]
Sequence of numbersrange(1, 10,2)[1:2:10; ]
Matrix[[1,2] , [3,4]][1 2; 3 4]
Random numbersnp.random.rand(4,5)rand(4,5)
Mutationinplace =True!
Matrix to vectorA.flatten()A[:]
Conjugate of a matrixA.conj()A’
Element wise operationmap().
Powervar**2var^2
IndexingStarts from 0Starts from 1
Maximum valuemax(A)maximum(A)
Minimum valuemin(A)minimum(A)
For loopfor i in range(n):
# command
for i in 1:n
# command
end
While loopWhile i <=n:While i <=n
If-elseIf i <=m:
# command
Else:
#command
if i <=m
# command
else
# command
end
Temporary functionY = lambda x: x**5Y = x -> x^5
Functiondef func(y, x):
return y + 3*x
func(y, x) = y + 3x
OR
function func(y, x)
return y + 3x
end

Visit QuantInsti for additional insight on this article: https://blog.quantinsti.com/julia-syntax/.

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