[R] R routines vs. MATLAB/SPSS Routines

[Matthew Dubins]

Hi all,

I've become quite enamored of R lately, and have decided to try to teach 
some of its basics (reading in data, manipulation and classical stats 
analyses) to my fellow grad students at the University of Toronto.  I 
sent out a mass email and have already received some positive 
responses.  One student, however, wanted to know what differentiates the 
routines that R uses, from those that MATLAB and SPSS use.  In other 
words, in what respects do R routines work faster/more efficiently/more 
accurately than those of MATLAB/SPSS. 

I thank you in advance for any answer you can give me (or rather, the 
inquiring student).

Cheers,
Matthew Dubins