[R] [FORGED] Newbie Question on R versus Matlab/Octave versus C

Rolf Turner
Mon, 28 Jan 2019 23:20:46 -0000

On 1/29/19 10:05 AM, Alan Feuerbacher wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I recently learned of the existence of R through a physicist friend who
> uses it in his research. I've used Octave for a decade, and C for 35
> years, but would like to learn R. These all have advantages and
> disadvantages for certain tasks, but as I'm new to R I hardly know how
> to evaluate them. Any suggestions?

* C is fast, but with a syntax that is (to my mind) virtually
   incomprehensible.  (You probably think differently about this.)

* In C, you essentially have to roll your own for all tasks; in R,
   practically anything (well ...) that you want to do has already
   been programmed up.  CRAN is a wonderful resource, and there's more
   on github.

* The syntax of R meshes beautifully with *my* thought patterns; YMMV.

* Why not just bog in and try R out?  It's free, it's readily available,
   and there are a number of good online tutorials.

cheers,

Rolf Turner

--
Honorary Research Fellow
Department of Statistics
University of Auckland
Phone: +64-9-373-7599 ext. 88276