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.pi...@precheza.cz> wrote: > Hi > > r-help-boun...@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.kir...@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@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@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@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@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. > -- Sent from my mobile device ______________________________________________ R-help@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.