XRanges-class            package:IRanges            R Documentation

_E_x_t_e_r_n_a_l _R_a_n_g_e_s

_D_e_s_c_r_i_p_t_i_o_n:

     The 'XRanges' class is meant to be the virtual parent for all
     'Ranges' derivatives that exist externally from R, such as search
     trees, databases, etc. It is the external analog of the internal
     'IRanges'.

_D_e_t_a_i_l_s:

     The primary requirement for a 'XRanges' implementation is that it
     is coercible to 'IRanges', so that the data may be imported into
     R. Several of the most important accessors ('start', 'end',
     'width') and utilities ('reduce', 'gaps') have default
     implementations for 'XRanges' objects that simply coerce the
     'XRanges' to an 'IRanges' and delegate. Subclasses are responsible
     for optimized implementations of those methods and should
     generally attempt to implement as much of the 'Ranges' API as is
     feasible.

_A_u_t_h_o_r(_s):

     Michael Lawrence

_S_e_e _A_l_s_o:

     The internal 'IRanges'; 'IntervalTree' for an implementation.

