[R] solution for reading access tables into R

[Wensui Liu]

Thanks for the response from Thomas Lumley. There is the way to read
access tables into R, just for someone else who might be interested.
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 f>or instance, if
 >there is a table named patient in the access file named patient_data
 >in my C drive. 

You need to set up a DSN for the file using the ODBC program in the
Control Panel.  This is the name ODBC uses for your database. Suppose you
call it "patientdb"

Now
  library(RODBC)
  channel <- odbcConnect("patientdb")
to connect to the database
  sqlTables(channel)
to list the available tables
  sqlFetch(channel, "patient")
to fetch the table called "patient"
  odbcClose(channel)
to close the connection.