Install R, RStudio, Git

To run the code in this book, you will need to install both R and the RStudio IDE, an application that makes R easier to use. Both are open source, free and easy to install:

  1. R: http://cran.stat.ucla.edu/ (NEW!)
  2. RStudio: http://www.rstudio.com/download
  3. Git: http://git-scm.com/downloads. Default options work well.

Setup Github, Git

  1. Create Github account at http://github.com, if you don’t already have one. For username, I recommend all lower-case letters, short as you can. You’re encouraged to upload a picture since it will get included in the students listing as part of the first assignment.

  2. Configure Git with global commands. Open up the Bash version of Git and type the following:

     # check your version of git
 git --version

 git config –-global user.name "your GitHub account name"
 git config –-global user.email "GitHubEmail@something.com"
    
 # list your config to confirm user.* variables set
 git config --list

  3. Open Rstudio and set the path to Git executable. Go to Tools > Global Options > Git/SVN. You should browse to the git executable which is usually, dependent on operating system:

    • Mac: /usr/local/git/bin/git
    • Windows: C:/Program Files/Git/bin/git.exe

Sign in to Slack

BB will invite you via email to the Slack forum env-info. When you first sign up, please try setting the same Slack username as your Github username. You can use this messaging forum for realtime discussion and feedback.

Check

Copy and paste the following code in your R console, which will tell you whether or not you have the latest versions of the software.

# parameters
R_v       = '3.2.3'
RStudio_v = '0.99.491'

# check R version ----
if (getRversion() < R_v){
  stop(sprintf('Your version of R (%s) is older than the expected minimum R version (%s). Please close R/RStudio and install the latest version of R from https://www.r-project.org/alt-home/.', getRversion(), R_v))
} else {
  cat(sprintf('Your version of R (%s) is valid, ie newer or the same as expected minimum R version (%s).', getRversion(), R_v))
}

# check RStudio version ----
if (RStudio.Version()$version < RStudio_v){
  stop(sprintf('Your version of RStudio (%s) is older than the expected minimum RStudio version (%s). Please close R/RStudio and install the latest version of RStudio from http://www.rstudio.com/download.', RStudio.Version()$version, RStudio_v))
} else {
  cat(sprintf('Your version of Rstudio (%s) is valid, ie newer or the same as expected minimum Rstudio version (%s).', RStudio.Version()$version, RStudio_v))
}

Further Resources