[R-sig-eco] Good Book for learning R

[Alexander Shenkin]

I will second Dan's sentiment here: I haven't found a single source 
which comprehensively lays out the programming framework for R (though 
I've never seen The R Book).  I ended up learning (and still am 
learning) how to program R in a relatively piecemeal manner.  Some of 
the references which come with R will give you a nice, very basic intro 
with which you can get going (Venables & Smith's "An Introduction to R", 
in particular).  There's also the "R Reference Card" 
(http://cran.r-project.org/doc/contrib/Short-refcard.pdf) which is a 
nice companion as you're plugging away, though not too appropriate for 
first time learning.

My own suggestion would be to read through Venables & Smith, and then 
learn the rest as you go along, as you need it.

allie

Dan Rabosky wrote:
> I strongly recommend Michael Crawley's "The R Book". A bit expensive,  
> but absolutely worth it. It is nearly 900 pages and covers everything  
> from data structures to character string manipulation to stats. There  
> may be better books out there, but I haven't seen them. As an aside,  
> Crawley has a much shorter book which mainly focuses on basic  
> statistics in R and which isn't nearly as useful as "the R book".
> 
> Unfortunately, all of the books of which I am aware are either  
> references or emphasize statistics in R. I have not yet come across a  
> good book on R programming that compares to the books available for  
> most other languages (e.g., with student exercises etc tailored to  
> the programming neophyte).
> 
> ~Dan
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On May 6, 2008, at 8:09 AM, Jeri Parrent wrote:
> 
>>  I have only used R a little  bit, and I am looking for a good,
>> comprehensive
>>    book on R, but one that is approachable for a novice like myself.
>>    Any suggestions?
>>    Thanks,
>>    Jeri
>>
>> -- 
>> Jeri Lynn Parrent
>> Postdoctoral Fellow
>> Department of Integrative Biology
>> University of Guelph
>> Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada
>> Tel: 519-824-4120 x56009
>>
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> 
> Dan Rabosky
> Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology &
> Fuller Evolutionary Biology Program
> Cornell Lab of Ornithology
> Cornell University
> Ithaca, NY 14853-2701
> DLR32Xcornell.edu (X = @)
> ph 607 592 4636
> fax 607 255 8088
> 
> new website:
> http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/Rabosky/dan/main.html
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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