[R] open source editor for r for beginners

[Rich Shepard]

On Tue, 20 Sep 2011, Marion Wenty wrote:

> I am looking for an editor for R which has got functions beyond the normal
> R editor that is included in the program.

> I had a look at VIM but I think it's difficult if you are just starting
> programming.

Marion,

   VIM (Vi) is a line-oriented editor. The other standard is Emacs (page
oriented) which has been described as the only editor that includes an
operating system. :-) I know folks that open emacs in their console when
they log into their system in the morning and do all their work within it,
including processing mail and news groups, searching the Web, coding, and
writing letters and documents.

   All editors have a learning curve; the more powerful and capable the
editor the longer the learning curve. Pick one and work with it until you
learn enough to do what you want.

   I use emacs (and have for years for all sorts of text editing and data
manipulation tasks) and have recently added ess (Emacs Speaks Statistics)
since I'm starting to learn to use R. I find it highly productive; YMMV.

Rich