clone: Serialization of record linkage object.
Description
Saving, loading and deep copying of record linkage objects
for big data sets.Usage
clone(object, ...)
saveRLObject(object, file = getDbFile(object), ...)
loadRLObject(file, inPlace = FALSE)
Arguments
object
Object of class "RLBigData". The object to save.
file
The name of the file to save to or load from.
inPlace
Logical. Wether to use the exisiting file as working copy.
See details.
...
Optional arguments for possible additions, currently not used.
Value
clone returns a deep copy of object.
loadRLObject returns the loaded object.
saveRLObject is used for its side effects.
Side effects
clone creates a new temporary SQLite database (a copy of the one
belonging to object).
saveRLObject writes to the specified file.
loadRLObject creates a new temporary SQLite database in the case
inPlace = FALSE.Details
As the classes for record linkage of large data sets have a SQLite database
attached which holds data and generates comparison patterns, a deep copy
of an instance is not possible by the standard R mechanisms. Also, saving
and reloading in a different R session makes an object unusable because the
database connection is lost. These issues are overcome by these
functions.
clone makes a deep copy of an object by duplicating the underlying
database.
saveRLObject saves an object to a SQLite database file containing
a representation of the R object as well as the associated database
tables. By default the current working copy is used.
loadRLObject loads an object from a file saved by saveRLObject.
clone and saveRLObject are generic functions with methods for
"RLBigData" and "RLResult".
If loadRLObject is called with inPlace = FALSE (the default),
a working copy of the database is made in a temporary file and the original
file left untouched. Calling with inPlace = TRUE sets the provided file as
working copy and changes made to the database are persistent. This option is
useful when working with large files in order to prevent disk usage
overhead.