1 Getting started

 

This chapter covers

  • Brief introductions to R and RStudio
  • R’s competitive edge over other programming languages
  • What to expect going forward

Data is changing the way businesses and other organizations work. Back in the day, the challenge was getting data; now the challenge is making sense of it, sifting through the noise to find the signal, and providing actionable insights to decision-makers. Those of us who work with data, especially on the frontend—statisticians, data scientists, business analysts, and the like—have many programming languages from which to choose.

R is a go-to programming language with an ever-expanding upside for slicing and dicing large data sets, conducting statistical tests of significance, developing predictive models, producing unsupervised learning algorithms, and creating top-quality visual content. Beginners and professionals alike, up and down an organization and across multiple verticals, rely on the power of R to generate insights that drive purposeful action.

1.1 Brief introductions to R and RStudio

1.2 Why R?

1.2.1 Visualizing data

1.2.2 Installing and using packages to extend R’s functional footprint

1.2.3 Networking with other users

1.2.4 Interacting with big data

1.2.5 Landing a job

1.3 How this book works

Summary

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