Re: R versus Fortran?

From: optionstraderjeff (jeffkatz_at_scientific-consultants.com)
Date: 02/28/05 

Date: 27 Feb 2005 23:12:16 -0800

Hi,

I would never consider giving up Fortan and C/C++! I phrased the
question as "R versus Fortran" because I am already familiar with
Fortran and wanted to know the contrasting strengths of the two
languages/environments. You've done a great job of answering that
question. The graphics capability sounds really interesting. I just
downloaded R together with a tar'd library of R subroutines from one of
the "Cran" sites. I also downloaded the new G95 Fortan compiler;
currently I use g77, which I like.

Thanks.

Jeffrey Owen Katz, Ph.D.

Graham Jones wrote:
> In article <1109412092.328082.165490@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>,
> optionstraderjeff <jeffkatz@scientific-consultants.com> writes
> >Hi,
> >
> >I have always done my statistical analyses in good old Fortran. As
a
> >result, I have acquired/developed a large library of routines.
> >However, I am considering learning "R" since it appears to be a very
> >popular environment/language for statistics, and there there are
many
> >useful subroutines available, e.g., for polychoric correlations,
that
> >are harder to find in the current Fortran world. What can I expect
> >from R. Is it worth learning? Can you easily link in Fortran or C
> >subroutines?
> >
> >I do a lot of work with time series, neural networks, wavelets,
factor
> >analysis & correlational statistics.
> >
> >Jeffrey Owen Katz, Ph.D.
> >
>
> I've used C for many years, mainly for pattern recognition. I've
started
> using R, and certainly found it worth learning. You should probably
be
> thinking `R and Fortran', not `R vs Fortran'. R is an interpreted
> language, with the convenience and slowness that implies. It is also
> `vectorised' and linear algebra is usually convenient and fast.
>
> Calling Fortran or C routines from R is very common, and I found it
easy
> - I won't promise you'll find it easy because that might depend on
your
> OS and your compiler, and I'm no expert on this aspect of R. (I've
> mostly communicated between C and R using files, to do big
operations.)
> It is also possible to call R functions from other languages, but
I've
> never tried that.
>
> For me, the graphics facilities in R are a major attraction. It is
hard
> to beat an interpreted language when tweaking a graph, and can you
> export graphics as postscript or bitmaps.
>
>
> --
> Graham Jones
> http://www.visiv.co.uk
> Emails to graham@visiv.co.uk may be deleted as spam
> Please add a j just before the @ to ensure delivery

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