Converting a String to a Variable Name On-The-Fly and Vice-versa in R

Recently, I had a professor ask me how to take a string and convert it to an R variable name on-the-fly. One possible way is:

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

Now, suppose we want to go the other way. The trick is just as simple:

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

https://www.r-bloggers.com/converting-a-string-to-a-variable-name-on-the-fly-and-vice-versa-in-r/