[R] prehistoric versions of R --> 1995!

[Martin Maechler]

>>>>> "FrPi" == François Pinard <pinard at iro.umontreal.ca>
>>>>>     on Tue, 7 Feb 2006 08:43:28 -0500 writes:

    FrPi> [Martin Maechler]
    >> 2) The oldest stuff that I have is all from 1995;

    FrPi> Mailing lists seem to go back into 1995 too.  I found a few messages 
    FrPi> from around 1994 on topics to be later found within R, but I'm not sure 
    FrPi> where I got these old messages from.  I did find a message really 
    FrPi> related to R-pre-alpha, which itself quotes a message written in 1994.

Hmm, I am interested to find these.

I am pretty sure the first "R list" was the one Ross and Robert
initiated with the following e-mail (the date of which also
points to that 10th anniversary date coming Sunday!):

  >> From: R Home <r at stat.auckland.ac.nz>
  >> To: r-alpha-testers at stat.auckland.ac.nz
  >> Subject: R Code Alpha Test
  >> Date: Mon, 12 Feb 1996 16:15:53 +1300
  >> 
  >> At some point in the past you have provided comments on R which
  >> indicated that you would make a useful alpha-tester for the version
  >> we plan to release to statlib.
  >> 
  >> We have put your name on a mailing list
  >> 
  >>    r-alpha-testers at stat.auckland.ac.nz
  >> 
  >> which we will use for discussion of problems and for distributing
  >> bug-fixes and patches.  We intend that that the list will only
  >> function for a short testing period.  Assuming that the testing
  >> isn't too much of a disaster, we will set up a real discussion
  >> mailing list.
  >> 
  >> If you don't wish to take part in the testing cycle and would like to
  >> be taken off the list please send some mail to "r at stat.auckland.ac.nz".
  >> If you have suggestions for other who could take part in testing let
  >> us know too.
  >> 
  >> There are a number of types of input we are interested in.
  >> 
  >>    1) PORTABILITY
  >>    We are interested in seeing R ported to as many Unix
  >>    platforms as possible.  We are interested in hearing about
  >>    portability and any fixes neccessary to get R running on
  >>    platforms other than those we have available  (SunOS,
  >>    Solaris, FreeBSD, Linux, HP, SGI Irix).
  >> 
  >>    2) DIFFERENCES
  >>    We would like feedback on differences between R and S.  We
  >>    have made the decision to make R as compatible with S as
  >>    possible, but have not had the chance to systematically
  >>    look for differences.
  >> 
  >>    3) BUGS
  >>    We want to know about the bugs which are present in R.
  >> 
  >>    4) EXTENSIONS
  >>    What should we do next?
  >> 
  >> The source code is now available by anonymous ftp from
  >> 
  >>    stat3.stat.auckland.ac.nz
  >> 
  >> (note that this is not the usual place).
  >> 
  >>    Ross Ihaka + Robert Gentleman
  >>

BTW, note the many (Unixy) platforms mentioned on which R was
running even then.

Definitely older than the above are private e-mails between
Ross, Robert and various people, but these were private.

An interesting one would be the first announcement of R on the
S-news mailing list which I think *was* in 1994 (as you indicate
above). Unfortunately the archives of S-news currently only go
back to 1998.

Also, further, to what I said previously on this thread,
I have a nice paperback book "Data Analysis - An Introduction
base on R" written by Alan Lee, Dept. Statistics, Auckland
labeled as "Course Notes of University of Auckland Papers 528.218/288"
(a kind of lecture notes) which I received as gift from Ross and
Robert at the Heidelberg workshop, March 25, 1995.
The book has a Copyright © 1994.  
That seems high evidence for R to have been in use at U. of
Auckland in 1994.

Now if we heard even more "history of R"  (with dates!)
from Ross / Robert / Alan Lee ?

Regards, 
Martin Maechler, ETH Zurich