Introduction

Abstract

We begin with a discussion of obtaining and installing R and provide an over- view of its uses and general information on getting started. In Section 1.6 we discuss the use of text editors for the code and provide recommendations for the general working style. In Section 1.7 we focus on obtaining assistance using help files and news groups. InstallingRand loading packages is discussed in Section 1.8, and an historical overview and discussion of the literature are presented in Section 1.10. In Section 1.11, we provide some general recommendations for reading this book and how to use it if you are an instructor, and finally, in the last section, we summarise the R functions introduced in this chapter.