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R provides a wide range of functions for obtaining summary statistics. Sep=",", row.names="id") Descriptive Statistics Mydata <- read.table("c:/mydata.csv", header=TRUE, # note the / instead of \ on mswindows systems # first row contains variable names, comma is separator R offers options to import many file types, from CSVs to databases.įor example, this is how to import a CSV into R. Note that by using built-in functions, the only thing you need to worry about is how to effectively communicate the correct input arguments (arglist) and manage the return value/s (if any). The code in between the curly braces is the body of the function. In R, a function is defined with the construct:
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A function is a piece of code written to carry out a specified task it may accept arguments or parameters (or not) and it may return one or more values (or not!). # An example of computing the mean with variablesĪlmost everything in R is done through functions. Use the assignment operator <- to create new variables. R has a wide variety of data types including scalars, vectors (numerical, character, logical), matrices, data frames, and lists. Note that binary operators work on vectors and matrices as well as scalars.
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R's binary and logical operators will look very familiar to programmers. Graphic User InterfacesĪside from the built in R console, RStudio is the most popular R code editor, and it interfaces with R for Windows, MacOS, and Linux platforms. At the end of an R session, the user can save an image of the current workspace that is automatically reloaded the next time R is started. The workspace is your current R working environment and includes any user-defined objects (vectors, matrices, data frames, lists, functions). The user enters commands at the prompt ( > by default) and each command is executed one at a time. StartupĪfter R is downloaded and installed, simply find and launch R from your Applications folder. Software can be downloaded from The Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN). R is available for Linux, MacOS, and Windows.
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