[R] R annoyances

[Philippe Grosjean]

François Pinard wrote:
> [Barry Rowlingson]
> 
> 
>>Even my great dream that R and Python eventually merge into the same
>>language?  R gets Python's syntax and Object-oriented functions and
>>Python gets access to all R's statistical functions?
> 
> 
> R is more than a statistical library.  I'm coming to R with a strong
> Python background, and first thought I would mainly use R through
> Python.  But soon, the R language revealed a few interesting features
> that Python does not offer, and which are very appropriate in R context.
> 
> For example, vectorisation is built-in (yet available on the Python
> side through Numeric or Numarray extensions).  R also holds interesting
> (useful and flexible) ideas about argument passing and matching, lazy
> evaluation, and environments.  And surely other things as well.
> 

- This is a call for contribution! -

James Wettenhall started to relift OmegaHat's RSPython and made an 
experimental R-wxPython package which allows to use Python and wxWidgets 
with R... and we had the idea to use Boa Constructor for drawing dialog 
boxes for R (see http://bioinf.wehi.edu.au/folders/james/wxPython/). 
There are several other solutions to combine R and Python out there, 
like RPy. Sure, you have to learn and use TWO languages: R and Python... 
but that looks to me as close as the perfect combination, especially for 
building platform-independent GUI stuff for R, and get access to all the 
nice Python routines from within R.

Now, the bad news: James does not have time to continue the development 
of R-wxPython and some basic problems are not solved yet (under Linux?). 
I will (when I have time) update that R-wxPython web page. For instance, 
there is now a version of Boa Constructor that is compatible with the 
version of wxWidget used in R (2.5).

People that believe this combination is terrific, as I do, and who have 
knowledge on programming (especially Linux/Unix) are _very welcome_ to 
contribute in this project. R-wxPython is almost orphaned... before 
being really born. What a pitty!

Best,

Philippe Grosjean

P.S.: Tcl/Tk with tcltk package (+ the tcltk2 package I am working on, 
see http://www.sciviews.org/SciViews-R, and the James Wettenhall 
R-Tcl/Tk web pages I should also maintain in the future, see 
http://bioinf.wehi.edu.au/~wettenhall/RTclTkExamples/) is, of course, 
another well-established alternative... but without all the nice aspects 
of Python and wxWidgets!