[R] R Documentation(s)

[Setzer.Woodrow@epamail.epa.gov]

If I may throw in my two cents.  I sometimes consult with scientists who use
GUI-based statistical packages for doing "simple" analyses of their data.  The
packages I've seen don't do a good job of producing a usable audit trail.  If
someone comes to me and says "What does this mean?" or "What do I do now?", I
pretty much have to go and watch their actual keystrokes while they repeat
(hopefully) the operations.

One real advantages to the dialects of S is that the script that does the
analysis serves (or can serve, if well-commented) as an audit trail that can be
rerun (with changes, if needed).   One take-home lesson here is, if there is to
be a GUI that produces R function calls, it would be really helpful if it were
easy to insert comments that document the actions, and that the function calls
be captured in a file that can be 'sourced' to re-run the analysis.

R. Woodrow Setzer, Jr.                                                    Phone:
(919) 541-0128
Biostatistics and
Fax:  (919) 541-4002
Research Support Staff
NHEERL MD-55; US EPA; RTP, NC 27711


|--------+------------------------>
|        |          p.dalgaard at bio|
|        |          stat.ku.dk    |
|        |                        |
|        |          05/03/2000    |
|        |          08:23 AM      |
|        |                        |
|--------+------------------------>
  >----------------------------------------------------------|
  |                                                          |
  |       To:     kjetil.kjernsmo at astro.uio.no               |
  |       cc:     Ko-Kang at xtra.co.nz,                        |
  |       r-help at stat.math.ethz.ch                           |
  |       Subject:     Re: [R] R Documentation(s)            |
  >----------------------------------------------------------|






Kjetil Kjernsmo <kjetil.kjernsmo at astro.uio.no> writes:

> >What exactly do you mean?  Do you mean R should be GUI (Graphical User
Interface)?
>
> Not at all! On the contrary (almost). If you show in the compendium how
> easy it is to read your data from file, perform an lm() on command line,
> they will realize that using lots and lots of drop down menus are simply
> not rational. However, you have to guide them through everything, step by
> step. (That being said, there are times where a GUI is not a bad thing,
> take GIMP for example).

Actually, I think there are valid reasons for people to want GUI
interfaces to statistics. One argument that I hear frequently is that
nonstatisticians tend to do other things than analyse data for
extended periods of time, and it becomes difficult to remember the
formalities from one time to the next. So they get scared of the
prospect of staring empty-minded at the R prompt. Also, some people
have small needs and it may be better to have a simple-minded
interface for the simplest things. E.g. for chi-square on a given
table, it will be easier to pop up a table editor where you fill in
the number of rows and columns and then fill counts into a grid than
it is to type chisq.test(matrix(c(1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9),3)).

As long as you can turn the GUI *off* and use R as usual, I see no
reason not to have some form of GUI. (..said the man who has been
looking at Tcl/Tk integration issues since Easter.) In particular,
there are good things to be said about the type of GUI that generates
the function calls and displays them to the user.

--
   O__  ---- Peter Dalgaard             Blegdamsvej 3
  c/ /'_ --- Dept. of Biostatistics     2200 Cph. N
 (*) \(*) -- University of Copenhagen   Denmark      Ph: (+45) 35327918
~~~~~~~~~~ - (p.dalgaard at biostat.ku.dk)             FAX: (+45) 35327907
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