An Rdata
file is a binary file, whereas csv files, for example, are text files. Advantages of Rdata
format is that it is more compact, faster to read, and can store any type of R data structure. Furthermore, you can store several objects into one Rdata
file.
On the other hand, it is a format which is incompatible with other statistical systems or software. So you won't be able to send data in this format to someone who is not using R. Furthermore, it may become incompatible from one R version to another (even if the compatibility is maintained since version 1.4).
You can find more informations in the ?save
help page.