One area where clearly GUI methods are preferable to command line methods in R, is data input. There is no need of learning read.csv or read.table when these options are only two clicks away in any R GUI. For academics/students there is a definite need to easily access
datasets from attached packages just as it is a need for business analysts to access databases with a few clicks than learn or read pages of pdf on RODBC. However some GUI (like Rattle) need data only in data frames, rather than list or arrays-this limits R’s flexibility. These are my views but you can see and compare views of data input in R Commander, Rattle and Deducer.
The Document Foundation is happy to announce the release candidate of
LibreOffice 3.3.1. This release candidate is the first in a series of
frequent bugfix releases on top of our LibreOffice 3.3 product. Please
be aware that LibreOffice 3.3.1 RC1 is not yet ready for production
use, you should continue to use LibreOffice for that.
Writer is the word processor inside LibreOffice. Use it for everything, from dashing off a quick letter to producing an entire book with tables of contents, embedded illustrations, bibliographies and diagrams. The while-you-type auto-completion, auto-formatting and automatic spelling checking make difficult tasks easy (but are easy to disable if you prefer). Writer is powerful enough to tackle desktop publishing tasks such as creating multi-column newsletters and brochures. The only limit is your imagination.
Calc tames your numbers and helps with difficult decisions when you’re weighing the alternatives. Analyze your data with Calc and then use it to present your final output. Charts and analysis tools help bring transparency to your conclusions. A fully-integrated help system makes easier work of entering complex formulas. Add data from external databases such as SQL or Oracle, then sort and filter them to produce statistical analyses. Use the graphing functions to display large number of 2D and 3D graphics from 13 categories, including line, area, bar, pie, X-Y, and net – with the dozens of variations available, you’re sure to find one that suits your project.
Impress is the fastest and easiest way to create effective multimedia presentations. Stunning animation and sensational special effects help you convince your audience. Create presentations that look even more professional than the standard presentations you commonly see at work. Get your collegues’ and bosses’ attention by creating something a little bit different.
Draw lets you build diagrams and sketches from scratch. A picture is worth a thousand words, so why not try something simple with box and line diagrams? Or else go further and easily build dynamic 3D illustrations and special effects. It’s as simple or as powerful as you want it to be.
Base is the database front-end of the LibreOffice suite. With Base, you can seamlessly integrate your existing database structures into the other components of LibreOffice, or create an interface to use and administer your data as a stand-alone application. You can use imported and linked tables and queries from MySQL, PostgreSQL or Microsoft Access and many other data sources, or design your own with Base, to build powerful front-ends with sophisticated forms, reports and views. Support is built-in or easily addable for a very wide range of database products, notably the standardly-provided HSQL, MySQL, Adabas D, Microsoft Access and PostgreSQL.
Math is a simple equation editor that lets you lay-out and display your mathematical, chemical, electrical or scientific equations quickly in standard written notation. Even the most-complex calculations can be understandable when displayed correctly. E=mc2.
LibreOffice also comes configured with a PDF file creator, meaning you can distribute documents that you’re sure can be opened and read by users of almost any computing device or operating system.
This promotional offer enables you to try a limited amount of the Windows Azure platform at no charge. The subscription includes a base level of monthly compute hours, storage, data transfers, a SQL Azure database, Access Control transactions and Service Bus connections at no charge. Please note that any usage over this introductory base level will be charged at standard rates.
Included each month at no charge:
Windows Azure
25 hours of a small compute instance
500 MB of storage
10,000 storage transactions
SQL Azure
1GB Web Edition database (available for first 3 months only)
Windows Azure platform AppFabric
100,000 Access Control transactions
2 Service Bus connections
Data Transfers (per region)
500 MB in
500 MB out
Any monthly usage in excess of the above amounts will be charged at the standard rates. This introductory special will end on March 31, 2011 and all usage will then be charged at the standard rates.
As part of AWS’s Free Usage Tier, new AWS customers can get started with Amazon EC2 for free. Upon sign-up, new AWScustomers receive the following EC2 services each month for one year:
750 hours of EC2 running Linux/Unix Micro instance usage
750 hours of Elastic Load Balancing plus 15 GB data processing
10 GB of Amazon Elastic Block Storage (EBS) plus 1 million IOs, 1 GB snapshot storage, 10,000 snapshot Get Requests and 1,000 snapshot Put Requests
15 GB of bandwidth in and 15 GB of bandwidth out aggregated across all AWS services
Paid Instances-
Standard On-Demand Instances
Linux/UNIX Usage
Windows Usage
Small (Default)
$0.085 per hour
$0.12 per hour
Large
$0.34 per hour
$0.48 per hour
Extra Large
$0.68 per hour
$0.96 per hour
Micro On-Demand Instances
Micro
$0.02 per hour
$0.03 per hour
High-Memory On-Demand Instances
Extra Large
$0.50 per hour
$0.62 per hour
Double Extra Large
$1.00 per hour
$1.24 per hour
Quadruple Extra Large
$2.00 per hour
$2.48 per hour
High-CPU On-Demand Instances
Medium
$0.17 per hour
$0.29 per hour
Extra Large
$0.68 per hour
$1.16 per hour
Cluster Compute Instances
Quadruple Extra Large
$1.60 per hour
N/A*
Cluster GPU Instances
Quadruple Extra Large
$2.10 per hour
N/A*
* Windows is not currently available for Cluster Compute or Cluster GPU Instances.
NOTE- Amazon Instance definitions differ slightly from Azure definitions
Instances of this family are well suited for most applications.
Small Instance – default*
1.7 GB memory
1 EC2 Compute Unit (1 virtual core with 1 EC2 Compute Unit)
160 GB instance storage
32-bit platform
I/O Performance: Moderate
API name: m1.small
Large Instance
7.5 GB memory
4 EC2 Compute Units (2 virtual cores with 2 EC2 Compute Units each)
850 GB instance storage
64-bit platform
I/O Performance: High
API name: m1.large
Extra Large Instance
15 GB memory
8 EC2 Compute Units (4 virtual cores with 2 EC2 Compute Units each)
1,690 GB instance storage
64-bit platform
I/O Performance: High
API name: m1.xlarge
Micro Instances
Instances of this family provide a small amount of consistent CPU resources and allow you to burst CPU capacity when additional cycles are available. They are well suited for lower throughput applications and web sites that consume significant compute cycles periodically.
Micro Instance
613 MB memory
Up to 2 EC2 Compute Units (for short periodic bursts)
EBS storage only
32-bit or 64-bit platform
I/O Performance: Low
API name: t1.micro
High-Memory Instances
Instances of this family offer large memory sizes for high throughput applications, including database and memory caching applications.
High-Memory Extra Large Instance
17.1 GB of memory
6.5 EC2 Compute Units (2 virtual cores with 3.25 EC2 Compute Units each)
420 GB of instance storage
64-bit platform
I/O Performance: Moderate
API name: m2.xlarge
High-Memory Double Extra Large Instance
34.2 GB of memory
13 EC2 Compute Units (4 virtual cores with 3.25 EC2 Compute Units each)
850 GB of instance storage
64-bit platform
I/O Performance: High
API name: m2.2xlarge
High-Memory Quadruple Extra Large Instance
68.4 GB of memory
26 EC2 Compute Units (8 virtual cores with 3.25 EC2 Compute Units each)
1690 GB of instance storage
64-bit platform
I/O Performance: High
API name: m2.4xlarge
High-CPU Instances
Instances of this family have proportionally more CPU resources than memory (RAM) and are well suited for compute-intensive applications.
High-CPU Medium Instance
1.7 GB of memory
5 EC2 Compute Units (2 virtual cores with 2.5 EC2 Compute Units each)
350 GB of instance storage
32-bit platform
I/O Performance: Moderate
API name: c1.medium
High-CPU Extra Large Instance
7 GB of memory
20 EC2 Compute Units (8 virtual cores with 2.5 EC2 Compute Units each)
1690 GB of instance storage
64-bit platform
I/O Performance: High
API name: c1.xlarge
Cluster Compute Instances
Instances of this family provide proportionally high CPU resources with increased network performance and are well suited for High Performance Compute (HPC) applications and other demanding network-bound applications. Learn more about use of this instance type for HPC applications.
Cluster Compute Quadruple Extra Large Instance
23 GB of memory
33.5 EC2 Compute Units (2 x Intel Xeon X5570, quad-core “Nehalem” architecture)
1690 GB of instance storage
64-bit platform
I/O Performance: Very High (10 Gigabit Ethernet)
API name: cc1.4xlarge
Cluster GPU Instances
Instances of this family provide general-purpose graphics processing units (GPUs) with proportionally high CPU and increased network performance for applications benefitting from highly parallelized processing, including HPC, rendering and media processing applications. While Cluster Compute Instances provide the ability to create clusters of instances connected by a low latency, high throughput network, Cluster GPU Instances provide an additional option for applications that can benefit from the efficiency gains of the parallel computing power of GPUs over what can be achieved with traditional processors. Learn moreabout use of this instance type for HPC applications.
Cluster GPU Quadruple Extra Large Instance
22 GB of memory
33.5 EC2 Compute Units (2 x Intel Xeon X5570, quad-core “Nehalem” architecture)
2 x NVIDIA Tesla “Fermi” M2050 GPUs
1690 GB of instance storage
64-bit platform
I/O Performance: Very High (10 Gigabit Ethernet)
API name: cg1.4xlarge
versus-
Windows Azure compute instances come in five unique sizes to enable complex applications and workloads.
Compute Instance Size
CPU
Memory
Instance Storage
I/O Performance
Extra Small
1 GHz
768 MB
20 GB*
Low
Small
1.6 GHz
1.75 GB
225 GB
Moderate
Medium
2 x 1.6 GHz
3.5 GB
490 GB
High
Large
4 x 1.6 GHz
7 GB
1,000 GB
High
Extra large
8 x 1.6 GHz
14 GB
2,040 GB
High
*There is a limitation on the Virtual Hard Drive (VHD) size if you are deploying a Virtual Machine role on an extra small instance. The VHD can only be up to 15 GB.
Please use the following code to get a 15% discount on the 2 Day Conference Pass: AJAY11.
Predictive Analytics World announces new full-day workshops coming to San Francisco March 13-19, amounting to seven consecutive days of content.
These workshops deliver top-notch analytical and business expertise across the hottest topics.
Register now for one or more workshops, offered just before and after the full two-day Predictive Analytics World conference program (March 14-15). Early Bird registration ends on January 31st – take advantage of reduced pricing before then.
Make savings now with the early bird rate. Receive $200 off your registration rate for Predictive Analytics World – San Francisco (March 14-15), plus $100 off each workshop for which you register.
WRITER is the word processor inside LibreOffice. Use it for everything, from dashing off a quick letter to producing an entire book with tables of contents, embedded illustrations, bibliographies and diagrams. The while-you-type auto-completion, auto-formatting and automatic spelling checking make difficult tasks easy (but are easy to disable if you prefer). Writer is powerful enough to tackle desktop publishing tasks such as creating multi-column newsletters and brochures. The only limit is your imagination.
CALC tames your numbers and helps with difficult decisions when you’re weighing the alternatives. Analyze your data with Calc and then use it to present your final output. Charts and analysis tools help bring transparency to your conclusions. A fully-integrated help system makes easier work of entering complex formulas. Add data from external databases such as SQL or Oracle, then sort and filter them to produce statistical analyses. Use the graphing functions to display large number of 2D and 3D graphics from 13 categories, including line, area, bar, pie, X-Y, and net – with the dozens of variations available, you’re sure to find one that suits your project.
IMPRESS is the fastest and easiest way to create effective multimedia presentations. Stunning animation and sensational special effects help you convince your audience. Create presentations that look even more professional than the standard presentations you commonly see at work. Get your collegues’ and bosses’ attention by creating something a little bit different.
DRAW lets you build diagrams and sketches from scratch. A picture is worth a thousand words, so why not try something simple with box and line diagrams? Or else go further and easily build dynamic 3D illustrations and special effects. It’s as simple or as powerful as you want it to be.
BASE is the database front-end of the LibreOffice suite. With Base, you can seamlessly integrate into your existing database structures. Based on imported and linked tables and queries from MySQL, PostgreSQL or Microsoft Access and many other data sources, you can build powerful databases containing forms, reports, views and queries. Full integration is possible with the in-built HSQL database.
MATH is a simple equation editor that lets you lay-out and display your mathematical, chemical, electrical or scientific equations quickly in standard written notation. Even the most-complex calculations can be understandable when displayed correctly. E=mc2
Open Documentation just announced release candidate 3 of Libre office.
Better performance and interoperability on Excel doc import;
Better performance on DBF import;
Slightly better performance on ODS import;
Possibility to use English formula names;
Distributed alignment – allows one to specify ‘distributed’ horizontal alignment and ‘justified’ and ‘distributed’ vertical alignments within cells. This is notably useful for CJK locales;
Support for 3 different formula syntaxes: Calc A1, Excel A1 and Excel R1C1;
Configurable argument and array separators in formula expressions;
External reference works within OFFSET function;
Hitting TAB during auto-complete commits current selection and moves to the next cell;
Shift-TAB cycles through auto-complete selections;
Find and replace skips those cells that are filtered out (thus hidden);
Protecting sheet provides two additional sheet protection options, to optionally limit cursor placement in protected and unprotected areas;
Copying a range highlights the range being copied. It also allows you to paste it by hitting ENTER key. Hitting ESC removes the range highlight;
Jumping to and from references in formula cells via “Ctrl-[” and “Ctrl-]”;
Cell cursor stays at the original cell during range selection.
Writer
AutoCorrections match case of the words that AutoCorrect replaces. (Issuezilla 2838);
Analyzing data can have many challenges associated with it. In the case of business analytics data, these challenges or constraints can have a marked effect on the quality and timeliness of the analysis as well as the expected versus actual payoff from the analytical results.
Challenges of Analytical Data Processing-
1) Data Formats- Reading in complete data, without losing any part (or meta data), or adding in superfluous details (that increase the scope). Technical constraints of data formats are relatively easy to navigate thanks to ODBC and well documented and easily search-able syntax and language.
The costs of additional data augmentation (should we pay for additional credit bureau data to be appended) , time of storing and processing the data (every column needed for analysis can add in as many rows as whole dataset, which can be a time enhancing problem if you are considering an extra 100 variables with a few million rows), but above all that of business relevance and quality guidelines will ensure basic data input and massaging are considerable parts of whole analytical project timeline.
2) Data Quality-Perfect data exists in a perfect world. The price of perfect information is one business will mostly never budget or wait for. To deliver inferences and results based on summaries of data which has missing, invalid, outlier data embedded within it makes the role of an analyst just as important as which ever tool is chosen to remove outliers, replace missing values, or treat invalid data.
3) Project Scope-
How much data? How much Analytical detail versus High Level Summary? Timelines for delivery as well as refresh of data analysis? Checks (statistical as well as business)?
How easy is it to load and implement the new analysis in existing Information Technology Infrastructure? These are some of the outer parameters that can limit both your analytical project scope, your analytical tool choice, and your processing methodology.
4) Output Results vis a vis stakeholder expectation management-
Stakeholders like to see results, not constraints, hypothesis ,assumptions , p-value, or chi -square value. Output results need to be streamlined to a decision management process to justify the investment of human time and effort in an analytical project, choice,training and navigating analytical tool complexities and constraints are subset of it. Optimum use of graphical display is a part of aligning results to a more palatable form to stakeholders, provided graphics are done nicely.
Eg Marketing wants to get more sales so they need a clear campaign, to target certain customers via specific channels with specified collateral. In order to base their business judgement, business analytics needs to validate , cross validate and sometimes invalidate this business decision making with clear transparent methods and processes.
Given a dataset- the basic analytical steps that an analyst will do with R are as follows. This is meant as a note for analysts at a beginner level with R.
Package -specific syntax
update.packages() #This updates all packages
install.packages(package1) #This installs a package locally, a one time event
library(package1) #This loads a specified package in the current R session, which needs to be done every R session
CRAN________LOCAL HARD DISK_________R SESSION is the top to bottom hierarchy of package storage and invocation.
ls() #This lists all objects or datasets currently active in the R session
> names(assetsCorr) #This gives the names of variables within a dataframe
[1] “AssetClass” “LargeStocksUS” “SmallStocksUS”
[4] “CorporateBondsUS” “TreasuryBondsUS” “RealEstateUS”
[7] “StocksCanada” “StocksUK” “StocksGermany”
[10] “StocksSwitzerland” “StocksEmergingMarkets”
> dim(assetsCorr) #gives dimensions observations and variable number
[1] 12 11
str(Dataset) – This gives the structure of the dataset (note structure gives both the names of variables within dataset as well as dimensions of the dataset)
head(dataset,n1) gives the first n1 rows of dataset while
tail(dataset,n2) gives the last n2 rows of a dataset where n1,n2 are numbers and dataset is the name of the object (here a data frame that is being considered)
summary(dataset) gives you a brief summary of all variables while
library(Hmisc)
describe(dataset) gives a detailed description on the variables
simple graphics can be given by
hist(Dataset1)
and
plot(Dataset1)
As you can see in above cases, there are multiple ways to get even basic analysis about data in R- however most of the syntax commands are intutively understood (like hist for histogram, t.test for t test, plot for plot).
For detailed analysis throughout the scope of analysis, for a business analytics user it is recommended to using multiple GUI, and multiple packages. Even for highly specific and specialized analytical tasks it is recommended to check for a GUI that incorporates the required package.
What does LibreOffice give you?
DECISION STATS 