[R-SIG-Mac] Data Editor Question

[David Winsemius]

On Dec 18, 2009, at 10:08 AM, Sean Davis wrote:

> On Fri, Dec 18, 2009 at 9:45 AM, Francis Smart <smartfra at msu.edu>  
> wrote:
>> I was wondering, does R allow you to open a data editor, look at all
>> data, variable names, variable labels, and sort by multiple  
>> variables?
>>  Would you want to use R if you have to clean a complex data set in  
>> R?
>

Frank Harrell's advice in this matter:

http://www.r-project.org/conferences/useR-2007/program/presentations/harrell.pdf

http://www.mail-archive.com/r-help@r-project.org/msg10013.html

http://biostat.mc.vanderbilt.edu/twiki/pub/Main/RS/sintro.pdf


> Hi, Francis.
>
> If you are looking for a GUI to examine your data, like Excel, then
> not really.  However, R is exactly the place to go for "cleaning"
> complex data.  See, for example, the functions summary(), head(),
> colnames(), sort(), and order().
>
>> If R does not have an advanced data editor is there an open source
>> program that would handle these tasks well?
>
> R IS an advanced data editor.  However, the interace is not point- 
> and-click.

I would echo that opinion. Compared to the point-and-click data  
editing in the SAS product, JMP, which some might be inclined to call  
advanced, the R facilities are much more efficient and flexible.


>
> Sean
>
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David Winsemius, MD
Heritage Laboratories
West Hartford, CT