[R] Linux configuration (Ubuntu)

[Martin Maechler]

>>>>> "UweL" == Uwe Ligges <ligges at statistik.uni-dortmund.de>
>>>>>     on Wed, 20 Sep 2006 01:03:30 +0200 writes:

    UweL> Brian Edward wrote:
    >> Hello all,
    >> 
    >> I have been a R user for about a year now, running on a MS Windows machine.
    >> I am in the process of making a complete switch to open-source.  Linux is a
    >> new world to me.  Ubuntu was my selection of the various distributions.
    >> Please pardon this very basic question (I was unable to locate an answer on
    >> R or Ubuntu).  I used Synaptic to download the necessary files to run.
    >> However, I was unable to locate the program using the Add/Remove feature.
    >> So, I created a Launcher for R on the desktop and identified the executable
    >> file.  The path I entered into the Command Line was:  /usr/bin/R
    >> I can run R in the Terminal, but not as a separate desktop location.  So,
    >> the short question is, what is the specific command line or configuration I
    >> should be using to run R?  Or, am I supposed to be running R in the
    >> Terminal?

    UweL> Short answer: yes, long answer, yes, unless you want to use some very 
    UweL> capable editor as an environment such ass Emacs + ESS. Look up the 
    UweL> documentation and the list archives fo details on Emacs and ESS.

Of course, I'm strongly suggesting the "unless", i.e. using
Emacs + ESS.

Further note that  Ubuntu (as all other Linux distributions
derived from Debian) provides ESS as a standard package you can
simply install, e.g., via Synaptic.
Note that you need to activate the 'Universe'
{in the sources that Synaptic or other package installers
 search} for that, but I assume you've done that anyway for the
R-related ubuntu packages.

And yes, I believe Ubuntu is a very good choice when upgrading
from Windows!

Martin