Why R

R is an open source statistical software. Many package enable statistical data analysis.

Task views

• Econometrics
• Time series analysis

 R in the field of forest and environmental economics:

• FAOSTAT R package

Graphics

• Gaphics galery

In the press

• Why R has a steep learning curve?
• New York Times: Data analysts captivated by R's power

"R first appeared in 1996, when the statistics professors Ross Ihaka and Robert Gentleman of the University of Auckland in New Zealand released the code as a free software package. [...] Some statisticians who took an early look at the software considered it rough around the edges. But despite its shortcomings, R immediately gained a following with people who saw the possibilities in customizing the free software. "

Examples of R usage by David Smith:

• R is used frequently by The New York Times to produce consistently great infographics.

• Google uses R to calculate the ROI on advertising campaigns.

Courses

Stanford university offers a course on Machine Learning in R.

Code golf

R performed quite well in a decimal to roman number conversion challenge. R code is shorter than python or perl implementation but longer than common lisp. 

See also:

• Posts tagged with R
• R commands