[R] Fortune candidate! Re: new to R Project

Tue Feb 23 14:07:31 CET 2010

library(rant)

I recall just over a year ago (Fall08) when I was new to the R
language. I realize there's a steep curve in any language, especially
with R and the multitudes of packages that exist.

With that being said, I still took (still do) time out to read the
manuals, the vignettes and perform some cursory research on what it is
I am trying to accomplish before posting. 99.999% of the time I have
found what I am looking for (and learned something else new along the
way).

It sounds to me (and I may be incorrect in my initial impression,
correct me if I am wrong) that the OP has not the slightest idea of
what he/she wants to do with the 'data' once it is there. I have over
the course of my personal journey with R come to appreciate the
posting guides of the various R lists. I also have a full appreciation
for the vignettes and other associated documentation that has been
assembled (my primary domain is in the fin/econometrics *with a dash
of forecasting* packages) -- I am sure pkg maintainers aren't putting
these together for their sanity.

A little research and understanding what you are trying to accomplish
will go a long way.

<End coffee deficient morning rant>
-c

On 2/23/10, Petr PIKAL <petr.pikal at precheza.cz> wrote:
> Hi
>
> r-help-bounces at r-project.org napsal dne 23.02.2010 05:50:25:
>
>>        I have a concern with the sentiment expressed:  When one is new
>> to a language, it is often not easy to know where to start in the
>> available documentation.  It's hard to RTFM when one does not know which
>
>> FM2R.
>>
>>
>>        I currently subscribe to email help for three other open source
>> collaborative projects.  This started with a problem I have not been
>> able to solve.  I reviewed options I could find, including posting a
>> question to R-help.  After careful study, I selected one alternative and
>
>> tried it.  When I hit a roadblock with that, I tried another.  When that
>
>> failed, I tried their help mailing lists.  So far, I have installed
>> three different software packages and gotten them to do simple things.
>> My current status reflects the famous line from Thomas Edison:  I know
>> several things that don't work.  I've been forced to postpone further
>> work on that project indefinitely.
>>
>>
>>        Was the question obvious?  The post included, "my goal is using R
>
>> i have to connect to the database and i have to generate reports."  We
>> can quibble with the lack of clarity in the prose;  for many people in
>> Germany (the poster had a German email address), English is a second
>> language.  (Gott sei dank dass ich nicht so oft meine Fragen auf Deutsch
>
>> stellen muss.)
>>
>>
>>        It looks to me like the questioner wants to access a standard
>> database system like MySQL, PostgreSQL or Oracle.  As far as I know,
>> that's not trivial.  Moreover, it's not easy even to find relevant
>> documentation.  S-Plus and more recently R have been part of my life not
>
>
> I agree that it is not always straightforward and simple to find relevant
> piece of information. R grew to powerful complex piece of software used in
> quite remote application areas.
>
> Paper dragons use similar approaches as airplanes to fly but airplanes
> would need thorough study to learn how to operate them. I am not sure if
> the OP is willing to do it.
>
> >From other questions of OP it seems to me that it is a variation to
>
> fortune("brain")
>
> Regards
> Petr
>
>> quite every day for the past seventeen years.  For most of that period,
>> I avoided databases, because I believed the learning curve would be
>> steep, and it seemed like one more thing that could distract me from the
>
>> most important things I had to do.  Not quite a year ago, I had to work
>> with a database system.  I learned to use RBloomberg, RODBC, etc.,
>> enough to do what seemed to be required.  However, at least for me, it
>> was not easy to decide where to start.
>>
>>
>>        Best Wishes,
>>        Spencer Graves
>>
>>
>> On 2/22/2010 5:25 AM, Detlef Steuer wrote:
>> > One vote goes to Dave's answer!
>> >
>> > You made (saved) my day
>> > detlef
>> >
>> >
>> > On Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:07:23 +0000
>> > "Dr. David Kirkby"<david.kirkby at onetel.net>  wrote:
>> >
>> >
>> >> chinna wrote:
>> >>
>> >>> hi everyone,
>> >>> i am new to R project can anyone please help me by providing
> documents....
>> >>>
>> >>> my goal is using R i have to connect to the database and i have to
> generate
>> >>> reports.
>> >>>
>> >>> Thanks in advance
>> >>> chinna.
>> >>>
>> >> R is a complex program. If you can't work out how to find the
> documentation, I
>> >> doubt you will be able to use R.
>> >>
>> >> Dave
>> >>
>> >> ______________________________________________
>> >> R-help at r-project.org  mailing list
>> >> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
>> >> PLEASE do read the posting
> guidehttp://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
>> >> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>> >>
>> > ______________________________________________
>> > R-help at r-project.org  mailing list
>> > https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
>> > PLEASE do read the posting
> guidehttp://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
>> > and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>> --
>> Spencer Graves, PE, PhD
>> President and Chief Operating Officer
>> Structure Inspection and Monitoring, Inc.
>> 751 Emerson Ct.
>> San José, CA 95126
>> ph:  408-655-4567
>>
>> ______________________________________________
>> R-help at r-project.org mailing list
>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
>> PLEASE do read the posting guide
> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
>> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>
> ______________________________________________
> R-help at r-project.org mailing list
> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>

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