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3.5 Reasons to Switch from Excel to R

3.5 Reasons to Switch from Excel to R. Patrick Burns http://www.burns-stat.com. March 2009. Outline. Similarity Reasons to Switch Why Not R? My Ulterior Motive. Applications of Spreadsheets. Data storage Data manipulation Graphics Simple analyses Not-so-simple analyses.

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3.5 Reasons to Switch from Excel to R

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  1. 3.5 Reasons to Switch from Excel to R Patrick Burns http://www.burns-stat.com March 2009

  2. Outline • Similarity • Reasons to Switch • Why Not R? • My Ulterior Motive

  3. Applications of Spreadsheets • Data storage • Data manipulation • Graphics • Simple analyses • Not-so-simple analyses

  4. The Genealogy of R S

  5. The Genealogy of R S S+

  6. The Genealogy of R Lisp S S+

  7. The Genealogy of R Lisp S S+ R

  8. The R Remit • “S” does not stand for statistics • Data analysis and graphics • R is doing okay

  9. Outline • Similarity • Reasons to Switch • Why Not R? • My Ulterior Motive

  10. Reason 1: Safety • This is the best reason

  11. An Image of Computing • Data = Water • Functionality = Earth

  12. Development Cycle: R • Write function • Debug function • Use function • Fix bugs as they periodically appear

  13. Development Cycle: Spreadsheet • Write spreadsheet • Debug spreadsheet • Populate spreadsheet • Debug this instance of spreadsheet

  14. Development Cycle: Spreadsheet • Write spreadsheet • Debug spreadsheet • Populate spreadsheet • Debug this instance of spreadsheet

  15. Time Series of Bugs: R • Number of bugs hardly ever increases • Bounded below by zero • Implies convergence • We have hope for convergence at zero

  16. Time Series of Bugs: Spreadsheet • Sort of like Brownian Motion

  17. Reason 2: Speed • Spreadsheet took most of the night, often fell over • Transferred to S (for safety) • Took a few minutes

  18. Reason 3: Graphics • No reason that spreadsheets should have poor graphics • But good graphics haven’t happened

  19. Reason 3 and a half • …

  20. Outline • Similarity • Reasons to Switch • Why Not R? • My Ulterior Motive

  21. Why Not? – A Bad Reason • Command line • Can write functions to overcome memory lapses • Can build custom menus

  22. Why Not? – A Good Reason • Conversion cost

  23. Reducing Transition Energy • Improve R usability • Probably little scope • Easier custom menus would help • Improve R documentation

  24. Outline • Similarity • Reasons to Switch • Why Not R? • My Ulterior Motive

  25. The Ulterior Motive • We need a book • Possible title: “Switch from Excel to R” • It ain’t me, babe

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