[R-SIG-Mac] X11 and R - very beginners question

[thatsanicehatyouhave at mac.com]

Hi Graham,

> On 14 Aug 2007, at 15:15, Graham Smith wrote:
>> I am brand new to the Mac, and wondered what exactly X11, does.

X11 is the windowing system on unix/linux operating systems. Since  
the move to OS X, it has been available as an optional install on the  
Mac as well to enable people to run unix-based apps unmodified. With  
respect to R, using X11 windows is just an option IF you have X11  
installed.

The Mac windowing system is called Quartz (hence, the Mac-only R  
function quartz() to open a new window).

You can go about using R on the Mac without using X11 windows at all.  
What I tell most people who ask is, if you don't know what X11 is,  
you don't need it. :) The support is useful on the Mac as you have  
the option to run R from the Terminal and not use R.app at all, but  
unless there's a specific reason to do this, I wouldn't.

Cheers,

Demitri