October 2012
Beginner to intermediate
721 pages
21h 38m
English
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Chapter 4. R Packages
A package is a related set of functions, help files, and data files that have been bundled together. Packages in R are similar to modules in Perl, libraries in C/C++, and classes in Java.
Typically, all the functions in the package are related: for example,
the stats package contains functions for
doing statistical analysis. To use a package, you need to load it into R
(see Loading Packages for directions on loading
packages).
R offers an enormous number of packages: packages that display graphics, packages for performing statistical tests, and packages for trying the latest machine learning techniques. There are also packages designed for a wide variety of industries and applications: packages for analyzing microarray data, packages for modeling credit risks, and packages for social sciences.
Some of these packages are included with R: you just have to tell R that you want to use them. Other packages are available from public package repositories. You can even make your own packages. This chapter explains how to use packages.
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I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.Addison B.
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I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.