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by a57721 256 days ago
C++ also uses (::), by the way. R probably borrowed it from C++.
1 comments
p_l 255 days ago
Most likely from Common Lisp due to links between R and Lisp. In CL double colon lets you access unexported symbols from a package, while single colon accesses only the exported ones
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a57721 255 days ago
Oh I think you're right and both took it from Common Lisp, which largely predates namespaces in C++ and R.
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