Fran�ois 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!
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