Extending R

John M. Chambers, who created the original S language, offers a guide to extending R, the open-source environment used for statistical analysis and research. The book revisits R's core principles and practical methods, and it offers programming advice suited to projects of any size. It also introduces newer techniques for building on R's capabilities.

The opening chapters explain R's essential features and its history, which prepares readers for what follows. Next, the book turns to programming, covering the mechanisms that make extensions possible. It then expands R's data structures using object-oriented programming, presented as the main way to manage complicated code. A new interface design, usable across several programming languages, is also introduced.

The result is a current picture of R that shows how to design and organize extensions through well-structured objects, functions, and interfaces. It is meant for present and future R users who want to contribute their own code and packages.