cachematrix1

## The following functions calculate the inverse of a matrix and saves it
## to the cache such that the next time the user attempts to calculate the
## matrix inverse, the previously saved value is returned instead of
## repeating the calculation.

## This function creates a special "matrix" object, which is really a list
## containing a function to
## 1. set the value of the matrix
## 2. get the value of the matrix
## 3. set the value of the inverse
## 4. get the value of the inverse

makeCacheMatrix <- function(x = matrix()) { ## create a matrix object x and some associated sub-functions/methods ## define the cache m m <- NULL set <- function(y) { x <<- y ## assign the input matrix y to the variable x in the ## parent environment m <<- NULL ## re-initialize m in the parent environment to null } get <- function() x ## return the matrix x setinverse <- function(inverse) m <<- inverse ## set the cache m equal ## to the inverse of the matrix x getinverse <- function() m ## return the cached inverse of x list(set = set, get = get, setinverse = setinverse, getinverse = getinverse)
}

## The following function calculates the inverse of the special "matrix" created
## with the above function. However, it first checks to see if the inverse
## has already been caclulated. If so, it 'get's the inverse from the cache
## and skips the computation. Otherwise, it calculates the matrix inverse
## and sets the value of the inverse in the cache via the 'setinverse' function.

cacheSolve <- function(x, ...) { ## Return a matrix that is the inverse of 'x' m <- x$getinverse() if(!is.null(m)) { message("getting cached data") return(m) } data <- x$get() m <- solve(data, ...) x$setinverse(m) m
}