This chapter introduced a theoretical framework for reshaping a dataset. The limitations of conventional approaches were pointed out, and the new paradigm of data layout was highlighted. In the new paradigm, employing only two functions allows users to rearrange datasets into various layouts as required. This chapter also discussed structural missing, sampling zero values, and how to deal with these missing values during the melting process. For faster and large data rearrangement, you were redirected to the reshape2 package.
In the next chapter, we will discuss how R can be connected with databases and handle large-scale data.