[R-sig-Geo] Using SJava?

[Roger Bivand]

Is anyone on this list using SJava or any R/Java connection? Not only is
the JTS Topology Suite that Tim just mentioned interesting, but so is the
upcoming GeoTools2 at http://www.geotools.org/. Both are likely to be used 
quite a lot, and thus probably well-maintained.

At the recent Association of American Geographers meeting, Frank Hardisty
asked me about this, and while I was able to install SJava (from
http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/pub/RWin) on a Win XP laptop, we were not able
to see how to get Java within R to see GeoTools in its classpath.  Both of
these Java resources are potentially useful, and R opinions two or three
years ago, that Java is slow, may need revision given increased machine
capacity. I feel we could benefit from mobilizing Java insight (but I feel
personally Java-challenged!).

I believe that Duncan Temple-Lang was playing with/working on object 
discovery - this could be very relevant in terms of matching R-internal 
object representations with those in existing software that we could - if 
SJava worked - link to. I also think that we could ask him for advice if 
we discussed it first here. What do others think?

-- 
Roger Bivand
Economic Geography Section, Department of Economics, Norwegian School of
Economics and Business Administration, Breiviksveien 40, N-5045 Bergen,
Norway. voice: +47 55 95 93 55; fax +47 55 95 93 93
e-mail: Roger.Bivand at nhh.no