title: What are the differences between "=" and "<-" assignment operators?
body: <p>What are the differences between the assignment operators <code>=</code> and <code>&lt;-</code> in R? </p>
  
  <p>I know that operators are slightly different, as this example shows</p>
  
  <pre><code>x &lt;- y &lt;- 5
  x = y = 5
  x = y &lt;- 5
  x &lt;- y = 5
  # Error in (x &lt;- y) = 5 : could not find function "&lt;-&lt;-"
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>But is this the only difference? </p>