[R] Fortune candidate! Re: new to R Project
spencerg
spencer.graves at prodsyse.com
Tue Feb 23 16:11:13 CET 2010
On 2/23/2010 5:07 AM, Cedrick Johnson wrote:
> library(rant)
>
I'm sorry: I'm not familiar with the "rant" package. I couldn't find
it on CRAN.
> 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.
>
Agreed. In this case, the original poster submitted virtually the same
question again with a different Subject. That thread made it clear that
s/he wanted to connect from R to a database and generate reports. S/he
somehow accessed the database but still had trouble generating reports
and questions that could be easily understood on this list.
> <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.
>>
>>
>
--
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
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