This is an interesting issue.  I don't want to discuss (or defend!)  
R's interface, but rather the idea that statistics software should be  
able to handle data entry as well.

Entering and analysing data are two different activities and I  
encourage my students to keep them separate.  This is obviously  
sensible for large datasets, but it also true for small ones.  If  
data are important enough to test, they should be stored in a file  
that can be accessed again and, as necessary, given to other people.   
One of the strengths of R is the ease with which data can be edited,  
amended, subsetted and manipulated in all sorts of ways.  It is also  
a potential weakness, unless you keep careful track of your  
analyses.  Data have often been collected at great expense and with  
great care.  They deserve to be entered and stored carefully.

Why is it people want one piece of software to do everything?  Next  
time you are in your kitchen, count how many different pieces of  
equipment you can prepare food with.


Antony Unwin
Professor of Computer-Oriented Statistics and Data Analysis,
Mathematics Institute,
University of Augsburg,
86135 Augsburg, Germany
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