The R Book
Chapter One
Getting Started
Installing R
I assume that you have a PC or an Apple Mac, and that you want to install R on the hard
disc. If you have access to the internet then this could hardly be simpler. First go to the site
called CRAN (this stands for Comprehensive R Archive Network). You can type its full
address,
/
or simply type CRAN into Google and be transported effortlessly to the site. Once there,
you need to `Download and Install R' by running the appropriate precompiled binary
distributions. Click to choose between Linux, Mac OS and Windows, then follow the (rather
different) instructions. You want the 'base' package and you want to run the setup program
which will have a name like R*.exe (on a PC) or R*.dmg (on a Mac). When asked, say
you want to 'Run' the file (rather than 'Save' it). Then just sit back and watch. If you do
not have access to the internet, then get a friend to download R and copy it onto a CD or a
memory stick for you.
Running R
... read full excerpt from The R Book ebook