Package {kstIO}

Version: 0.6-0
Date: 2026-09-06
Title: Knowledge Space Theory Input/Output
Description: Knowledge space theory by Doignon and Falmagne (1999) <doi:10.1007/978-3-642-58625-5> is a set- and order-theoretical framework which proposes mathematical formalisms to operationalize knowledge structures in a particular domain. The 'kstIO' package provides basic functionalities to read and write KST data from/to files to be used together with the 'kst', 'kstMatrix', 'pks', or 'DAKS' packages.
License: GPL (≥ 3)
Depends: R (≥ 4.4.0), sets, kstMatrix (≥ 3.0-0), openxlsx2, readODS, tools
Suggests: litedown
Author: Cord Hockemeyer [aut, cre]
Maintainer: Cord Hockemeyer <cord.hockemeyer@uni-graz.at>
NeedsCompilation: no
Repository: CRAN
Encoding: UTF-8
Config/roxygen2/version: 8.1.0
VignetteBuilder: litedown
Packaged: 2026-09-06 14:17:37 UTC; cord
Date/Publication: 2026-09-07 03:50:02 UTC

Convert a family of sets from set to matrix representation

Description

Convert a family of sets from set to matrix representation

Usage

as.binaryMatrix(x)

Arguments

x

Set object

Value

Matrix object

See Also

Other Utilities: as.famset()

Examples

m <- matrix(c(1,0,0,0,
              0,1,0,0,
              1,0,1,0,
              0,1,1,0,
              1,1,1,1), ncol=4, byrow=TRUE)
m
as.binaryMatrix(as.famset(m))

Convert a family of sets from matrix to set representation

Description

Convert a family of sets from matrix to set representation

Usage

as.famset(m, as.letters = TRUE)

Arguments

m

Binary matrix

as.letters

What to do if is.nuill(colnames(x)). Defaults to TRUE.

Value

Set object

If colnames(x) is set, the colnames are used as item identifiers for the set. Otherwise, letters or numbers are used, depending on the as.letters parameter.

See Also

Other Utilities: as.binaryMatrix()

Examples

m <- matrix(c(1,0,0,0,
              0,1,0,0,
              1,0,1,0,
              0,1,1,0,
              1,1,1,1), ncol=4, byrow=TRUE)
m
as.famset(m)

Read a basis from file

Description

Read a basis from file

Usage

read_kbase(
  filename,
  format = "auto",
  as.letters = TRUE,
  header = TRUE,
  sep = ",",
  enforce = TRUE
)

Arguments

filename

Name of the basis file

format

File format (default "auto")

as.letters

How to name items (default TRUE)

header

For spreadsheet files: does it include a header line (default TRUE)

sep

Cell separator for CSV files (default ',')

enforce

Do we enforce basis properties (default TRUE)?

Value

List with two elements matrix and sets containing the respective representations of the basis read

Please note that the terms 'base' and 'basis' are used synonymously and interchangeably.

See Also

Other Functions for reading and writing families of sets: read_kdata(), read_kfamset(), read_kspace(), read_kstructure(), write_kbase(), write_kdata(), write_kfamset(), write_kspace(), write_kstructure()

Examples

kstMatrix::xpl$basis
tempfile <- paste0(tempdir(), "/test.bas")
write_kbase(kstMatrix::xpl$basis, tempfile, format="SRBT")
read_kbase(tempfile)

Read a data set from file

Description

Read a data set from file

Usage

read_kdata(
  filename,
  format = "auto",
  as.letters = TRUE,
  header = TRUE,
  sep = ","
)

Arguments

filename

Name of the data file

format

File format (default "auto")

as.letters

How to name items (default TRUE)

header

For spreadsheet files: does it include a header line (default TRUE)

sep

Cell separator for CSV files (default ',')

Value

kmdata object

Please note that data sets can only be stored in matrix format - sets cannot contain multiple identical response patterns.

See Also

Other Functions for reading and writing families of sets: read_kbase(), read_kfamset(), read_kspace(), read_kstructure(), write_kbase(), write_kdata(), write_kfamset(), write_kspace(), write_kstructure()

Examples

head(kstMatrix::xpl$data)
tempfile <- paste0(tempdir(), "/testdata.ods")
write_kdata(kstMatrix::xpl$data, tempfile)
head(read_kdata(tempfile))

Read a family of sets from file

Description

Read a family of sets from file

Usage

read_kfamset(
  filename,
  format = "auto",
  as.letters = TRUE,
  header = TRUE,
  sep = ",",
  enforce = TRUE
)

Arguments

filename

Name of the file

format

File format (default "auto")

as.letters

How to name items (default TRUE)

header

For spreadsheet files: does it include a header line (default TRUE)

sep

Cell separator for CSV files (default ',')

enforce

Do we enforce famset properties (default TRUE)?

Value

List with two elements matrix and sets containing the respective representations of the famset read

See Also

Other Functions for reading and writing families of sets: read_kbase(), read_kdata(), read_kspace(), read_kstructure(), write_kbase(), write_kdata(), write_kfamset(), write_kspace(), write_kstructure()

Examples

kstMatrix::xpl$basis
tempfile <- paste0(tempdir(), "/test.bas")
write_kbase(kstMatrix::xpl$basis, tempfile, format="KST")
read_kbase(tempfile)

Read a knowledge space from file

Description

Read a knowledge space from file

Usage

read_kspace(
  filename,
  format = "auto",
  as.letters = TRUE,
  header = TRUE,
  sep = ",",
  enforce = TRUE
)

Arguments

filename

Name of the file

format

File format (default "auto")

as.letters

How to name items (default TRUE)

header

For spreadsheet files: does it include a header line (default TRUE)

sep

Cell separator for CSV files (default ',')

enforce

Do we enforce knowledge space properties (default TRUE)?

Value

List with two elements matrix and sets containing the respective representations of the knowledge space read

Please note that enforcing knowledge space properties (i.e. computing the closure under union) is computationally complex and therefore may take quite some time.

See Also

Other Functions for reading and writing families of sets: read_kbase(), read_kdata(), read_kfamset(), read_kstructure(), write_kbase(), write_kdata(), write_kfamset(), write_kspace(), write_kstructure()

Examples

kstMatrix::xpl$space
tempfile <- paste0(tempdir(), "/test.spc")
write_kspace(kstMatrix::xpl$space, tempfile, format="SRBT")
read_kspace(tempfile)

Read a knowledge structure from file

Description

Read a knowledge structure from file

Usage

read_kstructure(
  filename,
  format = "auto",
  as.letters = TRUE,
  header = TRUE,
  sep = ",",
  enforce = TRUE
)

Arguments

filename

Name of the file

format

File format (default "auto")

as.letters

How to name items (default TRUE)

header

For spreadsheet files: does it include a header line (default TRUE)

sep

Cell separator for CSV files (default ',')

enforce

Do we enforce knowledge structure properties (default TRUE)?

Value

List with two elements matrix and sets containing the respective representations of the knowledge structure read

See Also

Other Functions for reading and writing families of sets: read_kbase(), read_kdata(), read_kfamset(), read_kspace(), write_kbase(), write_kdata(), write_kfamset(), write_kspace(), write_kstructure()

Examples

kstMatrix::xpl$space
tempfile <- paste0(tempdir(), "/test.struc")
write_kstructure(kstMatrix::xpl$space, tempfile, format="SRBT")
read_kstructure(tempfile)

Read a surmise function from file

Description

Read a surmise function from file

Read an attribution function from file

Usage

read_surmisefunction(filename, sep = ",", enforce = TRUE)

readattributionfunction(filename, sep = ",")

Arguments

filename

Name of the file

sep

Cell separator for CSV files (default ',').

enforce

Do we enforce surmise function properties (default TRUE)?

Value

kmsurmisefunction object

Surmise and attribution functions can only be stored in spreadsheet files. The exact file type (CSV, ODS, or XLSX) is automatically inferred from the filename extension.

kmsurmisefunction object

Surmise and attribution functions can only be stored in spreadsheet files. The exact file type (CSV, ODS, or XLSX) is automatically inferred from the filename extension.

See Also

Other Functions for reading and writing surmise and attribution functions and relations: read_surmiserelation(), write_surmisefunction(), write_surmiserelation()

Examples

kstMatrix::xpl$sf
tempfile <- paste0(tempdir(), "/test_sf.csv")
write_surmisefunction(kstMatrix::xpl$sf, tempfile)
cat(readLines(tempfile), sep='\n')
read_surmisefunction(tempfile)

Read a surmise relation from file

Description

Read a surmise relation from file

Read a attribution relation from file

Usage

read_surmiserelation(
  filename,
  format = "auto",
  header = TRUE,
  as.letters = TRUE,
  sep = ",",
  enforce = TRUE
)

read_attributionrelation(
  filename,
  format = "auto",
  header = TRUE,
  as.letters = TRUE,
  sep = ","
)

Arguments

filename

Name of the file

format

File format (default "auto")

header

For spreadsheet files: Does it contain a header row (default TRUE)?

as.letters

Do we provide numeric or alphanumeric item names if no colnames are specified?

sep

Cell separator for CSV files (default ',').

enforce

Do we enforce surmise relation properties (default TRUE)?

Value

kmsurmisefunction object

kmsurmisefunction object

See Also

Other Functions for reading and writing surmise and attribution functions and relations: read_surmisefunction(), write_surmisefunction(), write_surmiserelation()

Examples

kstMatrix::xpl$sr
tempfile <- paste0(tempdir(), "/test_sf.csv")
write_surmiserelation(kstMatrix::xpl$sr, tempfile)
cat(readLines(tempfile), sep='\n')
read_surmiserelation(tempfile)

Write a basis to file

Description

Write a basis to file

Usage

write_kbase(x, filename, format = NULL, sep = ",", enforce = TRUE)

Arguments

x

Basis (in set (kbase) or matrix (kmbasis) format)

filename

Name of the file to be written

format

File format

sep

Cell separator for CSV files

enforce

Should basis properties be enforced (only for matrix form)?

If the file format is not specified, write_kbase() looks at the filename extension. If it is some spreadsheet type (CSV, ODS, or XLSX), the respective file format is chosen, otherwise SRBT is selected.

See Also

Other Functions for reading and writing families of sets: read_kbase(), read_kdata(), read_kfamset(), read_kspace(), read_kstructure(), write_kdata(), write_kfamset(), write_kspace(), write_kstructure()

Examples

kstMatrix::xpl$basis
tempfile <- paste0(tempdir(), "/test.bas")
write_kbase(kstMatrix::xpl$basis, tempfile, format="SRBT")
cat(readLines(tempfile), sep='\n')

Write a data set to file

Description

Write a data set to file

Usage

write_kdata(x, filename, format = NULL, sep = ",")

Arguments

x

Data set (only in matrix (kmdata) format)

filename

Name of the file to be written

format

File format

sep

Cell separator for CSV files

If the file format is not specified, write_base() looks at the filename extension. If it is some spreadsheet type (CSV, ODS, or XLSX), the respective file format is chosen, otherwise KST is selected.

See Also

Other Functions for reading and writing families of sets: read_kbase(), read_kdata(), read_kfamset(), read_kspace(), read_kstructure(), write_kbase(), write_kfamset(), write_kspace(), write_kstructure()

Examples

head(kstMatrix::xpl$data)
tempfile <- paste0(tempdir(), "/testdata.csv")
write_kdata(kstMatrix::xpl$data, tempfile)
cat(head(readLines(tempfile)), sep='\n')

Write a family f sets to file

Description

Write a family f sets to file

Usage

write_kfamset(x, filename, format = NULL, sep = ",", enforce = TRUE)

Arguments

x

Family of sets (in set (kfamset) or matrix (kmfamset) format)

filename

Name of the file to be written

format

File format

sep

Cell separator for CSV files

enforce

Should knowledge structure properties be enforced (only for matrix form)?

If the file format is not specified, write_kfamset() looks at the filename extension. If it is some spreadsheet type (CSV, ODS, or XLSX), the respective file format is chosen, otherwise SRBT is selected.

For larger families of sets, it might be better suitable and way more efficient to save and later load them with the save() and load() functions - if they are to be used only with R.

See Also

Other Functions for reading and writing families of sets: read_kbase(), read_kdata(), read_kfamset(), read_kspace(), read_kstructure(), write_kbase(), write_kdata(), write_kspace(), write_kstructure()

Examples

kstMatrix::xpl$basis
tempfile <- paste0(tempdir(), "/test.bas")
write_kbase(kstMatrix::xpl$basis, tempfile, format="KST")
cat(readLines(tempfile), sep='\n')

Write a knowledge space to file

Description

Write a knowledge space to file

Usage

write_kspace(x, filename, format = NULL, sep = ",", enforce = TRUE)

Arguments

x

Knowledge space (in set (kspace) or matrix (kmspace) format)

filename

Name of the file to be written

format

File format

sep

Cell separator for CSV files

enforce

Should knowledge space properties be enforced (only for matrix form)?

If the file format is not specified, write_kspace() looks at the filename extension. If it is some spreadsheet type (CSV, ODS, or XLSX), the respective file format is chosen, otherwise SRBT is selected.

For larger knowledge spaces, it might be better suitable and way more efficient to save and later load them with the save() and load() functions - if they are to be used only with R.

See Also

Other Functions for reading and writing families of sets: read_kbase(), read_kdata(), read_kfamset(), read_kspace(), read_kstructure(), write_kbase(), write_kdata(), write_kfamset(), write_kstructure()

Examples

kstMatrix::xpl$space
tempfile <- paste0(tempdir(), "/test.spc")
write_kspace(kstMatrix::xpl$space, tempfile, format="matrix")
cat(readLines(tempfile), sep='\n')
# Using a non-space object
write_kspace(kstMatrix::xpl$basis, tempfile, format="matrix")
cat(readLines(tempfile), sep='\n')

Write a knowledge structure to file

Description

Write a knowledge structure to file

Usage

write_kstructure(x, filename, format = NULL, sep = ",", enforce = TRUE)

Arguments

x

Knowledge space (in set (kstructure) or matrix (kmstructure) format)

filename

Name of the file to be written

format

File format

sep

Cell separator for CSV files

enforce

Should knowledge structure properties be enforced (only for matrix form)?

If the file format is not specified, write_kstructure() looks at the filename extension. If it is some spreadsheet type (CSV, ODS, or XLSX), the respective file format is chosen, otherwise SRBT is selected.

For larger knowledge structures, it might be better suitable and way more efficient to save and later load them with the save() and load() functions - if they are to be used only with R.

See Also

Other Functions for reading and writing families of sets: read_kbase(), read_kdata(), read_kfamset(), read_kspace(), read_kstructure(), write_kbase(), write_kdata(), write_kfamset(), write_kspace()

Examples

kstMatrix::xpl$space
tempfile <- paste0(tempdir(), "/test.struc")
write_kstructure(kstMatrix::xpl$space, tempfile, format="matrix")
cat(readLines(tempfile), sep='\n')
# Enforcing knowledge structure properties for a non-structure object
write_kstructure(kstMatrix::xpl$basis, tempfile, format="SRBT")
cat(readLines(tempfile), sep='\n')

Write a surmise function to file

Description

Write a surmise function to file

Write a attribution function to file

Usage

write_surmisefunction(x, filename, sep = ",")

write_attributionfunction(x, filename, sep = ",")

Arguments

x

Attribute function (kmattributionfunction object))

filename

Name of the file to be written

sep

Cell separator for CSV files

Attribute functions can only be stored in spreadsheet format. The concrete file format (CSV, ODS, or XLSX) is selected based on the filename extension.

See Also

Other Functions for reading and writing surmise and attribution functions and relations: read_surmisefunction(), read_surmiserelation(), write_surmiserelation()

Examples

kstMatrix::xpl$sf
tempfile <- paste0(tempdir(), "/test_sf.csv")
write_surmisefunction(kstMatrix::xpl$sf, tempfile)
cat(readLines(tempfile), sep='\n')

Write a surmise function to file

Description

Write a surmise function to file

Write an attribution function to file

Usage

write_surmiserelation(x, filename, format = NULL, sep = ",")

write_attributionrelation(x, filename, format = NULL, sep = ",")

Arguments

x

Attribution relation (kmattributionrelation object)

filename

Name of the file to be written

format

File format

sep

Cell separator for CSV files

Attribution relations are available only in matrix format.

If format is NULL, SRBT is selected, If the filename has a spreadsheet file type extension, the respective type is selected.#

See Also

Other Functions for reading and writing surmise and attribution functions and relations: read_surmisefunction(), read_surmiserelation(), write_surmisefunction()

Examples

kstMatrix::xpl$sr
tempfile <- paste0(tempdir(), "/test_sf.csv")
write_surmiserelation(kstMatrix::xpl$sr, tempfile)
cat(readLines(tempfile), sep='\n')