network.edgecount: Return the Number of Edges in a Network Object
In network: Classes for Relational Data

Description Usage Arguments Details Value Warning Author(s) References See Also Examples

network.edgecount returns the number of edges within a network, removing those flagged as missing if desired.

1	network.edgecount(x, na.omit = TRUE)

`x`	an object of class `network`
`na.omit`	logical; omit edges with `na==TRUE` from the count?

The return value is the number of distinct edges within the network object, including multiplex edges as appropriate. (So if there are 3 edges from vertex i to vertex j, each contributes to the total edge count.)

The return value network.edgecount is in the present implementation related to the (required) mnext network attribute. mnext is an internal legacy attribute that currently indicates the index number of the next edge to be added to a network object. (Do not modify it unless you enjoy unfortunate surprises.) The number of edges returned by network.edgecount is equal to x%n%"mnext"-1, minus the number of NULL edges (and missing edges, if na.omit==TRUE). Note that g%n%"mnext"-1 cannot, by itself, be counted upon to be an accurate count of the number of edges! As mnext is not part of the API (and is not guaranteed to remain), users and developers are urged to use network.edgecount instead.

The number of edges

network.edgecount uses the real state of the network object to count edges, not the state it hypothetically should have. Thus, if you add extra edges to a non-multiplex network, directed edges to an undirected network, etc., the actual number of edges in the object will be returned (and not the number you would expect if you relied only on the putative number of possible edges as reflected by the network.indicators). Don't create network objects with contradictory attributes unless you know what you are doing.

Carter T. Butts buttsc@uci.edu

Butts, C. T. (2008). “network: a Package for Managing Relational Data in R.” Journal of Statistical Software, 24(2). http://www.jstatsoft.org/v24/i02/

get.network.attribute

#Create a network with three edges
m<-matrix(0,3,3)
m[1,2]<-1; m[2,3]<-1; m[3,1]<-1
g<-network(m)
network.edgecount(g)==3   #Verify the edgecount

network: Classes for Relational Data
Version 1.13.0.1 created on 2015-08-31.
copyright (c) 2005, Carter T. Butts, University of California-Irvine
                    Mark S. Handcock, University of California -- Los Angeles
                    David R. Hunter, Penn State University
                    Martina Morris, University of Washington
                    Skye Bender-deMoll, University of Washington
 For citation information, type citation("network").
 Type help("network-package") to get started.

[1] TRUE