lastName: Get Last Name

In LimaRAF/plantR: Managing Species Records from Biological Collections

Get Last Name

Description

Extract the last name of the collector or determiner of a biological specimen.

Usage

lastName(
  name,
  noName = "s.n.",
  invert = FALSE,
  initials = FALSE,
  first.capital = TRUE
)

Arguments

name	the character string or vector containing the names.
noName	character. The standard notation for missing names in name. Default to "s.n.".
invert	logical. Should first name(s) be returned instead of the last name? Default to FALSE.
initials	logical. If first name(s) are chosen, should they be returned in full or only their initials? Default to FALSE.
first.capital	logical. Should the name returned have only the first letter(s) capitalized or returned as provided? Default to TRUE.

Details

The function works for simple last names or compound last names, independently if names are provided in lower or capital letters. It is relatively stable to the format and spacing of the string provided, but it may not work in all cases.

It implicitly assumes that last names are (i) the ones provided at the end of the name string if there is no comma, or (ii) the first name preceeding the comma, if there is a comma in the name string. Few exceptions related to names not in the 'first + last name' or 'last name + comma + first name' formats (e.g. 'Hatschbach G.G.') are also considered.

If only one name is given, the function returns the same name with the first letter capitalized.

For missing names (i.e. "", " " or NAs) the function returns the character defined by the argument noName.

The function can also return all names but the last name detected by setting the argument invert to TRUE. In this case, user can choose between full first names and only their initials by setting the argument initials to TRUE.

Value

the last name provided in name with the first letter capitalized.

Author(s)

Renato A. F. de Lima & Hans ter Steege

Examples

# Simple last name
 lastName("Gert Hatschbach")
 lastName("Gert Guenther Hatschbach")
 lastName("Gert G. Hatschbach")
 lastName("GERT GUENTHER HATSCHBACH")
 lastName("HATSCHBACH, G.G.")
 lastName("HATSCHBACH, G. G.")
 lastName("G. G. HATSCHBACH")
 lastName("Hatschbach GG")

 # Last name with generational suffixes
 lastName("Hermogenes Leitao Filho")
 lastName("Leitao Filho, H.")
 lastName("Leitao Filho, H.F.")
 lastName("Filho Neto, S.J.")

 # Compound last name
 lastName("Augustin Saint-hilaire")
 lastName("Saint-Hilaire A.")

 # Multiple names
 names <- c("Hatschbach, GG", "Hatschbach G.G.",
 "Leitao filho, H. F.","Saint-Hilaire, augustin")
 lastName(names)
 lastName(names, invert = TRUE)
 lastName(names, invert = TRUE, initials = TRUE)

 # Unusual formatting
 lastName("Cesar Sandro, Esteves, F")
 lastName("C.S. Esteves F.")
 lastName("Mendonca Filho, C.V. Neto, F.C.C.")
 # two or more names, separated by comma: output correct
 lastName("A. Alvarez, A. Zamora & V. Huaraca")
 # two or more names, not separated by comma: output incorrect
 lastName("Karl Emrich & Balduino Rambo")

 # Some problematic (unresolved) examples
 lastName("Maria Da Silva", invert = TRUE, initials = TRUE)

LimaRAF/plantR documentation built on Jan. 1, 2023, 10:18 a.m.