[R] The Future of R | API to Public Databases

[Brian Diggs]

On 1/13/2012 2:26 PM, MacQueen, Don wrote:
> It's a nice idea, but I wouldn't be optimistic about it happening:
>
> Each of these public databases no doubt has its own more or less unique
> API, and the people likely to know the API well enough to write R code to
> access any particular database will be specialists in that field. They
> likely won't know much if anything about other public databases. The
> likelihood of a group forming to develop ** and maintain ** a single R
> package to access the no-doubt huge variety of public databases strikes me
> as small.

I agree. The more reasonable model is a collection of packages, each of 
which can access a particular data source.

> However, this looks like a great opportunity for a new CRAN Task View. The
> task view would simply identify which packages connect to which public
> databases. (sorry, I can't volunteer)

A CRAN Task View would be well suited for this. I have tagged these sort 
of packages on crantastic with the "onlineData" tag when I happen to 
notice one, but I have not made a concerted effort to find all packages. 
  A Task View would be even better.

http://crantastic.org/tags/onlineData

> -Don
>
> p.s.
> I can mention openair as a package that has tools to access public
> databases.

Tagged it.

-- 
Brian S. Diggs, PhD
Senior Research Associate, Department of Surgery
Oregon Health & Science University