Programming Background

Mark Austin Post Due 9/14/2021

R and Other Software

• R compared to other software I’ve used?

Before this class, my R experience was limited to R simulation work in the first semester statistical theory class. I’ve had much more experience with SAS at the level where I was able to earn SAS certifications. I’ve also worked with Perl, PHP, Python, JMP, PowerShell, and other software over the years. My experience with R so far is that R has the flexibility of Python along with the very helpful object design. I’ve found working with objects for basic tasks more intuitive than less flexible languages like SAS. When using SAS, sometimes simple logic had to be implemented in complex macros because SAS was inflexible. In contrast, with R my experience so far has been that simple logic has had simple implementation. Another huge advantage R has over SAS is that R is easy to install and run. I’ve installed SAS in the past and that process was much more complex than installs with R or other software.

• What do you like about R functionality?

R’s biggest strength so far has been the integration of R Markdown with R Studio allowing for straightforward production of high quality output in multiple formats. In that sense, R seems to have a more complete ecosystem available for getting day to day work accomplished in an efficient manner than other languages.

• What do you miss about another language?

The biggest part I miss about SAS compared to R is that most of SAS code has been easier to read and follow because SAS code can only be coded a certain way or just a few ways whereas with R there are so many ways to code that it can be hard to keep up with all the nuances and ways people might code. This issue mainly comes up when trying to read or run other people’s code. My experience has been that very few people adequately comment or document their code. I’ve worked with a lot of SAS programs over the years and would estimate fewer than 5% were hard for me to follow based on the SAS code. With R code I’ve found myself needing to look things up more often than I did with SAS code.

• Do you consider R a hard language to learn?

R has been the type of language that is easy to get started but much more challenging to master. My prior experience with Perl and Python has helped facilitate R learning. Given that SAS itself invests a lot in training resources, I found it straightforward to use those resources and focus on a certain learning path that eventually led to SAS certification. With R the volume of available information can make it harder to focus. One of the main benefits of this class so far has been having a coherent learning path that builds on itself to help develop positive R foundation experiences.

Example R Markdown Output

plot(iris)