
Hi,
 
I have no idea about SAS but i know that when i've started using R i've struggled quite a bit until i started to get some insight and .... results. I cannot say it is easier now, but certainly i like it much better, i would not be ale to do the work i am doing without it and i would hate to change to a different statistical software.
 
About the "steep learning curve" .... well i agree that depends on who is learning it ..... but i think i am understanding that totally opposite than Ben ..... If x is the amount of learning and results (e.g. progress) and y is the time ..... i certainly think you can spend a lot of time trying to learn and understand things in R without much progress ..... I would consider that .... "steep learning curve" .... but i might be wrong ;-)
 
Also, R does have a GUI and i say it is minimal but .... if i use anything else - at least in my experience - since i tend to do computations which are very demanding on memory (at least under dreaded Windows) - I decided against them. So i suppose it is a personal choice, although more advanced GUI are available with R.
 
The fact that the R list is very helpful .... it is already in the "pros" .... and probably i learn from it much more than from anything else .... Actually the list help me not to give up on R when i've started, and i stick with it inspite of ill put questions (and i put quite a few in my time - and it seems i still do) and answers from kind and protective and helpful to rather ill humored - but even thouse usually had some info of interest. I don't think i ever put a question which was not ultimately answered here .... 
 
And ... it is obvious i was wrong about R and Linux ... although i saw so many messages about installation problems under Linux that i assumed it is harder to install ..... i guess it is not the case.
 
Also, it seems i have mistaken up-grades with updates regarding R versions ..... I consider packages as enhancements - but maybe they are up-grades .... i would be lost without them ;-)
 
Thanks so much for your replies,
 
Monica> Date: Thu, 22 May 2008 12:14:11 -0400> From: kevin.thorpe@utoronto.ca> To: pisicandru@hotmail.com> CC: r-help@r-project.org> Subject: Re: [R] Pros and Cons of R> > Monica Pisica wrote:> > > > Cons:> > > > - R has a very steep learning curve.> > I don't think the learning curve is any steeper than SAS programming,> it is just a different kind of curve.> > > -- > Kevin E. Thorpe> Biostatistician/Trialist, Knowledge Translation Program> Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences> Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto> email: kevin.thorpe@utoronto.ca Tel: 416.864.5776 Fax: 416.864.6057
_________________________________________________________________
Make every e-mail and IM count. Join the i’m Initiative from Microsoft.

	[[alternative HTML version deleted]]

