[R] SAS for R-users

[Muenchen, Robert A (Bob)]

> Thomas Levine wrote:
>Bob Muenchen says that 'Ralph O’Brien says that
>in a few years there will be so many students
>graduating knowing mainly R that [he]’ll need to
>write, “SAS for R Users.” That’ll be the day!'

Heh! I quite agree. I've had a few people write me saying they had used my book "R for SAS and SPSS Users" to learn SAS, but I certainly didn't aim for that when writing it. For R programmers wanting to learn SAS, here's what I recommend:

1. Read the text of the free version of "R for SAS and SPSS Users" at http://r4stats.com. That version has extremely short explanations of the differences by topic. Most of the explanation about R is in the form of comments in the R programs, which you can skip of course. The SAS programs will give you an idea of the basics. The book version adds lots of explanation but it's all about R, so skip that.

2. Read "The Little SAS Book" http://www.amazon.com/Little-SAS-Book-Primer-Third/dp/1590473337/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273963558&sr=8-1 

This is a quick and easy read that covers the basics well.

3. Read "SAS and R" http://www.amazon.com/SAS-Management-Statistical-Analysis-Graphics/dp/1420070576/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273963594&sr=1-1

"SAS and R" is a good book that covers both SAS and R. The explanations are very brief but well written. That brevity allows it to cover a lot of ground.

4. For in-depth topics, the SAS documentation is well written and all online: http://support.sas.com/documentation/index.html 

Although the SAS manuals are online, knowing what to look up is the challenge for an R user. That's where 1 and 3 will help. 

Get ready for a whole different kind of world!

Cheers,
Bob

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