[R] Getting started help
Mark Difford
mark_difford at yahoo.co.uk
Tue Feb 19 18:47:53 CET 2008
Hi Rthoughts,
Yes, I see now that they truly are (just) Rthoughts;) but take courage, for
we are getting closer (to the start). You still need to read the basic
documentation, and you will get used to the command line.
What I think you need is a package called Rcmdr. So, start R using your
desktop icon, click on the Packages menu, then on Install package(s)..., and
then scroll down and choose Rcmdr (you will probably first be asked to
choose a download site). For you the TeachingDemos plugin is a good
additional choice. Click OK.
Once Rcmdr has been installed, type the following at R's command prompt:
require(Rcmdr) ## loads Rcmdr and runs it
You can now switch windows between Rcmdr and R. Again, at the R prompt type
the following commands:
require(datasets)
?datasets
data(ChickWeight) ## careful: R is case sensitive!
ls() ## try ?ls
Now, switch to the Rcmdr window and use the "Data set:" button to load
ChickWeight into Rcmdr's workspace. Now mess with it; or load another data
set, more to your taste. Use Rcmdr's Tools menu to load any plugins you
installed.
ls()
str(ChickWeight) ## try ?str
summary(ChickWeight)
?rm
rm(ChickWeight)
ls()
HTH, Mark.
Rthoughts wrote:
>
> Hi Mark,
>
> Thank you for the reply.
>
> I meant the command prompts to start an R file.
>
> To be followed on by importint data I can then use to practise the
> software with. The installation did put an icon on teh desktop. I am a
> very skilled user of computers but command lines for many programs is
> something that cna throw me sometimes!
>
> Regrads, Seb.
>
>
> Mark Difford wrote:
>>
>> Hi Rthoughts,
>>
>> It isn't clear what you mean. When you install R, the installation
>> program usually puts an icon on your desktop that you can click on to run
>> the program. So, if you don't have that, but have installed R, and what
>> you mean is, "How do I start the R program?" or "How do I run R?" then do
>> the following:
>>
>> Go to the directory where R has been installed. If necessary, use your
>> file manager to find the file named Rgui.exe. When you have found it,
>> execute it to start an R session. (Rgui.exe usually lives in something
>> like: ...\Program Files\R\bin\)
>>
>> Later you will find out how to set this all up properly. Usually the
>> installation program does a faultless job.
>>
>> HTH,
>> Mark.
>>
>>
>> Rthoughts wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi Mark,
>>>
>>> Thank you for your reply. There is one link I haven't come across, the
>>> last one. I have seen them but I couldn't find where 'how to start R' is
>>> explained for Windows platforms.
>>>
>>> I will look further into them.
>>>
>>> As for everyone else who sent e-mails, thank you. I have printed them
>>> out and will look into them.
>>>
>>>
>>> Mark Difford wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hi Rthoughts,
>>>>
>>>>>> I am currently discouraged by the use of r. I cannot figure out how
>>>>>> to use it despite
>>>>>> extensive searches. Can anyone help me with getting started? How can
>>>>>> import
>>>>>> a txt file with series...
>>>>
>>>> There are piles of documents that you could (and should) read. I am
>>>> surprised that you haven't found them in your extensive searches. To
>>>> set your thoughts free, go here:
>>>>
>>>> http://www.r-project.org/
>>>> http://cran.r-project.org/manuals.html ## read the first one, and
>>>> whatever else you need
>>>>
>>>> Then click on CRAN, and choose a mirror site (nearby), say:
>>>> http://cran.za.r-project.org/
>>>>
>>>> Then go:
>>>> http://cran.za.r-project.org/other-docs.html
>>>>
>>>> and start at the top.
>>>>
>>>> HTH,
>>>> Mark.
>>>>
>>>> PS: It might help you in your future enquiries if you used a real name,
>>>> and if you called R R rather than r (since your keyboard clearly
>>>> doesn't have a broken R ;).
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Rthoughts wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Hello, I need to learn to use r-software for my PhD research project
>>>>> involving long timelines of radon radiation variations.
>>>>>
>>>>> I am using windows.
>>>>>
>>>>> I am currently discouraged by the use of r. I cannot figure out how to
>>>>> use it despite extensive searches. Can anyone help me with getting
>>>>> started? How can import a txt file with series of numbers from the
>>>>> RAD7 machine? How can I open up and set directories with the imported
>>>>> file or to start a new r session?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thank you so much if you can help.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
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