1.1 What is R and RStudio?

R is a high-level computer language that is designed for statistics and graphics. One main feature is vector program language like Matlab. It is initially written by Ross Ihaka and Robert Gentleman (Depart. of Statistics of the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and hence the name). Currently, it is a free open source software maintained by several contributors.

Compared to alternatives, SAS, Matlab or Stata, R is completely free. Hence, you do not need to worry about the license fee.

Another benefit is that R is open source software. This means that there is no black box for everything you use. You know what you are doing. It is also freely expendable so that you can do what you want to do.

While Python is also free and open source, it is designed for general purpose programming and thus it is overkill for our purpose.

RStudio is an integrated development editor (IDE) for R. It is easier to write code using the editor.