R is one of the main languages used for data science today. As such, it is natural that any beginner may want to know how to get started with this powerful language regardless of the operating system running on a computer. Thus, this tutorial will address this by covering the installation process of R on Windows 10, Mac OSX, and Ubuntu Linux.
Mac OS X and Linux users especially need to read the instructions on the CRAN site carefully. R can be installed on all systems, but depending on your version of OS X or Linux, you may need to follow special procedures to install R successfully. Not following these procedures could harm your system. R for Mac OS X is a third party application that provides additional functionality to OS X system and enjoys a popularity among Mac users. However, instead of installing it by dragging its icon to the Application folder, uninstalling R for Mac OS X may need you to. When it comes to using Macs in business, the current status is positive because they use Intel processors. Yet, in order to support the move to Apple Silicon in Macs, businesses must become more. R programs and algorithms are distributed by the Comprehensive R Archive Network. A simple graphic user interface is included for Mac users; R Commander can be installed using the built-in package installer, which can also install file import features (which aren't installed by default). R Commander is an X11 program, which means it uses an alien interface and has odd open/save dialogues, but if you. R-3 2.1 -snowleo R for Mac OS Install R 3.22 for Mac OS X 10.9 or higher (Mavericks build) x Mac OS 8.6 to 9.2 (and Mac OS X 10.1) a Mac OS X systems (through Mac OS X utions when assembling binaries, please 8/16 during the mirroring process. For examp: can also validate the signature using package. Contains R 32.2 framework, and Texinfo 5.2.
Furthermore, it will also go over the installation of RStudio, which is an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) that makes R easier to use as well as how to install R packages such as dplyr or ggplot2.
Installing R on Windows 10
Installing R on Windows 10 is very straightforward. The easiest way is to install it through CRAN, which stands for The Comprehensive R Archive Network. Just visit the CRAN downloads page and follow the links as shown in the video below:
Once the download is finished, you will obtain a file named 'R-3.6.3-win.exe' or similar depending on the version of R that you download. The links shown in the video above will take you to the most recent version. To finish installing R on your computer, all that is left to do is to run the .exe file. Most of the time, you will likely want to go with the defaults, so click the button 'Next' until the process is complete, as shown in the video below. Note that, even though I do not do so, you can add desktop or quick start shortcuts during the process.
Installing RStudio
Once R is installed, you can proceed to install the RStudio IDE to have a much-improved environment to work in your R scripts. It includes a console that supports direct code execution and tools for plotting and keeping track of your variables in the workspace, among other features. The installation process is very straightforward, as well. Simply go to the RStudio downloads page and follow the video below:
Once the download is complete, you will get a file named 'RStudio-1.2.5033.exe' or similar. Again this will be dependent on the version. To complete the installation, it is as easy as before. Just run the previously mentioned .exe file with the default settings by clicking 'Next', and wait until the installation finishes. Bear in mind that RStudio requires that R is installed beforehand.
Installing Packages in R
Now you have base R installed on your system and a nice IDE to begin your R programming journey. However, base R is rather limited in the things that it can do, which is why we have R packages such as dplyr for enhanced,'ggplot2'))
The second is shown in the video below. It is an easy-to-use graphical interface built into RStudio from which you can search and download any R package available on CRAN.
Installing R on Mac OSX
Installing R on Mac OS is similar to Windows. Once again, The easiest way is to install it through CRAN by going to the CRAN downloads page and following the links as shown in the video below:
The next step is to click on the 'R-3.6.2.pkg' (or newer version) file to begin the installation. You can leave the default options as is just like for Windows.
Installing RStudio and R packages
This process is essentially the same as in Windows. To download RStudio, go to the RStudio downloads page and get the .dmg for Mac OS, as shown in the image below. Remember to keep default installation options.
Once you open RStudio, installing packages is the same as with Windows. You can use either install.packages(c('dplyr','ggplot2')) in the console or go ahead and use the graphical interface shown in the video under the installing packages in R subsection of this tutorial.
Installing R on Ubuntu 19.04/18.04/16.04
Installing R on Ubuntu maybe a little bit more tricky for those unused to working in the command line. However, it is perhaps just as easy as with Windows or Mac OS. Before you start, make sure to have root access in order to use sudo.
As it is common, prior to installing R, let us update the system package index and upgrade all our installed packages using the following two commands:
sudo apt update
Furthermore, it will also go over the installation of RStudio, which is an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) that makes R easier to use as well as how to install R packages such as dplyr or ggplot2.
Installing R on Windows 10
Installing R on Windows 10 is very straightforward. The easiest way is to install it through CRAN, which stands for The Comprehensive R Archive Network. Just visit the CRAN downloads page and follow the links as shown in the video below:
Once the download is finished, you will obtain a file named 'R-3.6.3-win.exe' or similar depending on the version of R that you download. The links shown in the video above will take you to the most recent version. To finish installing R on your computer, all that is left to do is to run the .exe file. Most of the time, you will likely want to go with the defaults, so click the button 'Next' until the process is complete, as shown in the video below. Note that, even though I do not do so, you can add desktop or quick start shortcuts during the process.
Installing RStudio
Once R is installed, you can proceed to install the RStudio IDE to have a much-improved environment to work in your R scripts. It includes a console that supports direct code execution and tools for plotting and keeping track of your variables in the workspace, among other features. The installation process is very straightforward, as well. Simply go to the RStudio downloads page and follow the video below:
Once the download is complete, you will get a file named 'RStudio-1.2.5033.exe' or similar. Again this will be dependent on the version. To complete the installation, it is as easy as before. Just run the previously mentioned .exe file with the default settings by clicking 'Next', and wait until the installation finishes. Bear in mind that RStudio requires that R is installed beforehand.
Installing Packages in R
Now you have base R installed on your system and a nice IDE to begin your R programming journey. However, base R is rather limited in the things that it can do, which is why we have R packages such as dplyr for enhanced,'ggplot2'))
The second is shown in the video below. It is an easy-to-use graphical interface built into RStudio from which you can search and download any R package available on CRAN.
Installing R on Mac OSX
Installing R on Mac OS is similar to Windows. Once again, The easiest way is to install it through CRAN by going to the CRAN downloads page and following the links as shown in the video below:
The next step is to click on the 'R-3.6.2.pkg' (or newer version) file to begin the installation. You can leave the default options as is just like for Windows.
Installing RStudio and R packages
This process is essentially the same as in Windows. To download RStudio, go to the RStudio downloads page and get the .dmg for Mac OS, as shown in the image below. Remember to keep default installation options.
Once you open RStudio, installing packages is the same as with Windows. You can use either install.packages(c('dplyr','ggplot2')) in the console or go ahead and use the graphical interface shown in the video under the installing packages in R subsection of this tutorial.
Installing R on Ubuntu 19.04/18.04/16.04
Installing R on Ubuntu maybe a little bit more tricky for those unused to working in the command line. However, it is perhaps just as easy as with Windows or Mac OS. Before you start, make sure to have root access in order to use sudo.
As it is common, prior to installing R, let us update the system package index and upgrade all our installed packages using the following two commands:
sudo apt update
sudo apt -y upgrade
After that, all that you have to do is run the following in the command line to install base R.
sudo apt -y install r-base
Installing RStudio and R Packages
Once base R is installed, you can go ahead and install RStudio. For that we are going to head over again to the RStudio downloads page and download the .deb file for our Ubuntu version as shown in the image below:
Once you have the .deb file, all that is left is to navigate to your downloads folder using cd Downloads in the command line and then run the following command to begin the installation process:
sudo dpkg -i rstudio-1.2.5033-amd64.deb
You may encounter some dependency problems that may cause your first try to install RStudio to fail, but this has an easy fix. Just run the following command and try again:
sudo apt -f install
When the process finishes, you will have an RStudio shortcut in your Ubuntu app list, but you will also be able to start RStudio by typing rstudio in the command line.
Once you open RStudio, installing packages can be done in the exact same manner as with Windows or Mac OS. Either by typing install.packages(c('dplyr','ggplot2')) in the console or using the graphical interface shown in the video under the installing packages in R subsection of this tutorial
Conclusion
I hope that this tutorial will help those of you eager to dive into the world of R programming regardless of your operating system choice. If you are looking to start learning R as such after installing it, please refer to the Introduction to R course, which will guide you through the basics of R programming. Keep learning; the sky is the limit.
To use any of these key combinations, press and hold the keys immediately after pressing the power button to turn on your Mac, or after your Mac begins to restart. Keep holding until the described behavior occurs.
- Command (⌘)-R: Start up from the built-in macOS Recovery system. Or use Option-Command-R or Shift-Option-Command-R to start up from macOS Recovery over the Internet. macOS Recovery installs different versions of macOS, depending on the key combination you use while starting up. If your Mac is using a firmware password, you're prompted to enter the password.
- Option (⌥) or Alt: Start up to Startup Manager, which allows you to choose other available startup disks or volumes. If your Mac is using a firmware password, you're prompted to enter the password.
- Option-Command-P-R:Reset NVRAM or PRAM. If your Mac is using a firmware password, it ignores this key combination or starts up from macOS Recovery.
- Shift (⇧): Start up in safe mode. Disabled when using a firmware password.
- D: Start up to the Apple Diagnostics utility. Or use Option-Dto start up to this utility over the Internet. Disabled when using a firmware password.
- N: Start up from a NetBoot server, if your Mac supports network startup volumes. To use the default boot image on the server, hold down Option-N instead. Disabled when using a firmware password.
- Command-S: Start up in single-user mode. Disabled in macOS Mojave or later, or when using a firmware password.
- T: Start up in target disk mode. Disabled when using a firmware password.
- Command-V: Start up in verbose mode. Disabled when using a firmware password.
- Eject (⏏) or F12 or mouse button or trackpad button: Eject removable media, such as an optical disc. Disabled when using a firmware password.
If a key combination doesn't work
If a key combination doesn't work at startup, one of these these solutions might help:
- Be sure to press and hold all keys in the combination together, not one at a time.
- Shut down your Mac. Then press the power button to turn on your Mac. Then press and hold the keys as your Mac starts up.
- Wait a few seconds before pressing the keys, to give your Mac more time to recognize the keyboard as it starts up. Some keyboards have a light that flashes briefly at startup, indicating that the keyboard is recognized and ready for use.
- If you're using a wireless keyboard, plug it into your Mac, if possible. Or use your built-in keyboard or a wired keyboard. If you're using a keyboard made for a PC, such as a keyboard with a Windows logo, try a keyboard made for Mac.
- If you're using Boot Camp to start up from Microsoft Windows, set Startup Disk preferences to start up from macOS instead. Then shut down or restart and try again.
Remember that some key combinations are disabled when your Mac is using a firmware password.
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- Learn what to do if your Mac doesn't turn on.
- Learn about Mac keyboard shortcuts that you can use after your Mac has started up.
