r-0.64.1: description + notes

2.1 What Is R?

R is a system for statistical computation and graphics. It consists of a language plus a run-time environment with graphics, a debugger, access to certain system functions, and the ability to run programs stored in script files.

The design of R has been heavily influenced by two existing languages: Becker, Chambers & Wilks' S (*note What Is S?::.) and Sussman's Scheme (http://www.cs.indiana.edu/scheme-repository/home.html). Whereas the resulting language is very similar in appearance to S, the underlying implementation and semantics are derived from Scheme. *Note What Are the Differences between R and S?::, for a discussion of the differences between R and S.

R was initially written by Ross Ihaka and Robert Gentleman , who are Senior Lecturers at the Department of Statistics of the University of Auckland in Auckland, New Zealand. In addition, a large group of individuals has contributed to R by sending code and bug reports.

Since mid-1997 there has been a core group (the "R Core Team") who can modify the R source code CVS archive. The group currently consists of Doug Bates, Peter Dalgaard, Robert Gentleman, Kurt Hornik, Ross Ihaka, Friedrich Leisch, Thomas Lumley, Martin Maechler, Guido Masarotto, Paul Murrell, Brian Ripley, Heiner Schwarte, and Luke Tierney.

R has a home page at `http://stat.auckland.ac.nz/r/r.html'. It is free software distributed under a GNU-style copyleft, and an official part of the GNU project ("GNU S").


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