readAreas will read area-files, add observations and convert the result to
SpatialPolygonsDataFrame
readAreas(object, adir=".",ftype = "xy",projection = NA, ...)The function creates a SpatialPolygonsDataFrame of observations
and/or predictionLocations, depending on the information given in object.
either name of file with areal information or SpatialPointsDataFrame
with observations
directory where the files with areal information are to be found
type of file, the only type supported currently is "xy", referring to x- and y-coordinates of boundaries
add projection to the object if input is boundary-files
further parameters to be passed to readAreaInfo
Jon Olav Skoien
If object is a file name, readAreaInfo will be called.
If it is a
SpatialPointsDataFrame with observations and/or
predictionLocations, the function will read areal data from files according
to the ID associated with each observation/predictionLocation.
The function is of particular use when data are not available as
shape-files, or when the observations are not part of the shape-files.
This function is mainly for compatibility with the former FORTRAN-version.
The simplest way to read the data in that case is through readShapePoly
in the maptools-package or readOGR in
the rgdal-package. See
also rtop-package.