Convert string to a variable name

assign is what you are looking for.

assign("x", 5)x[1] 5

but buyer beware.

You can use do.call:

 do.call("<-",list(parameter_name, parameter_value))

To convert a string to a variable:

x <- 42eval(parse(text = "x"))[1] 42

And the opposite:

x <- 42deparse(substitute(x))[1] "x"

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