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> Unlike Excel and many other graphical user interface (GUI)-based programs, R’s reliance on text-based structure makes it straightforward to review at any time
by toolslive 5y ago
> Unlike Excel and many other graphical user interface (GUI)-based programs, R’s reliance on text-based structure makes it straightforward to review at any time the commands used in a data processing pipeline to ensure that the correct steps were taken.
> Furthermore, the ability to view the underlying commands facilitates transparency and reproducibility of analyses.
The article seems to be targeted at people with zero programming knowledge. The arguments here are valid, but don't rely on R.
The title could just have been ".... Should Embrace a Programming Language".
- adimitrov 5y agoI disagree. As a software engineer, R is a nuisance, it's a terrible language, and I hate doing complicated things in it. But it's very powerful, it's exactly right for these use cases and its ecosystem is mindbogglingly huge. Also, it tends to be easier to grasp for folks who don't have prior programming knowledge (anecdotal, but I've seen people pick it up very quickly who struggled a lot with, say, Python. And Python is the only language/ecosystem that comes close to R.) So, yeah, a lot of languages could be used for the use cases in TFA, but R is uniquely suited, weaknesses notwithstanding.
- fastaguy88 5y agoBut, to focus on the original article, Clinical Labs, where data analysis is literally the basis for life-and-death decisions, is not a sensible use case.