3 ms·
When I think about R I find it difficult to stop making analogies between it and JavaScript. Both are dynamic, "script" languages with C-based syntax and with L
by dnc 14y ago
When I think about R I find it difficult to stop making analogies between it and JavaScript. Both are dynamic, "script" languages with C-based syntax and with LISP-like nature that lurks underneath it. Both have functions as first class citizens. Both are inconsistent in different ways. Just to name a few that first come to my mind ... I think that these analogies reduced frustration that I had felt about R once when I "discovered" them and helped me to adopt and learn R.
- rck 14y agoThat makes sense - they were both inspired by Scheme (R is in many ways just a Lisp that uses M-expressions), but evolved to deal with immediate concerns that, in retrospect, have created difficulties as the years have gone by. It makes R and JavaScript great and frustrating at the same time.