[R-pkgs] lme4_0.6-1 uploaded

[Douglas Bates]

I have uploaded release 0.6-1 of the lme4 package to the incoming area
on CRAN.  I expect it will be transferred to the archive within a
couple of days, after which Uwe's Windows build daemon should be able
to get it to build a Windows version.  The lme4 package itself is a
pure R package (i.e. it does not contain any code to be compiled) but
it depends on the Matrix_0.8-7 package which has a considerable amount
of C code in it.

This package contains the version of lme that I spoke of at useR!2004.
Using sparse matrix methods - in particular, Tim Davis' LDL package -
we are able to fit models with crossed random effects quickly and
effectively.  This package also contains an implementation of GLMM for
Generalized Linear Mixed Models using either Penalized
Quasi-Likelihood (PQL) or ML estimation using the Laplacian
approximation to the marginal likelihood.  At present method =
'Laplace' is considerably slower than method = 'PQL'.  We would
recommend using PQL for model building and determining final parameter
estimates using method = 'Laplace'.

Feedback is welcome.

-- 
Douglas Bates                            bates at stat.wisc.edu
Statistics Department                    608/262-2598
University of Wisconsin - Madison        http://www.stat.wisc.edu/~bates/