One thing is probably the huge number of statistical packages it has (see: http://cran.r-project.org/web/views/), including (static) graphics (e.g: ggplot2, lattice, and just the base graphics).
Hi chimeracoder,
I am very curious to better understand how you find python better for the data pre-processing stage.
I use only R, and would love to know what "I am missing" here.
Any simple example will also make it easier to understand.
True,
Though if you need to run a rare or uncommon stat procedure, SAS is not likely to have it in the core, and then you are back to using what "some grad student wrote".
In what metric?
The GUI of SPSS is better then R (which doesn't have a GUI, though interesting competitors are available like Rcmdr and Deducer).
In terms of everything else (performance, graphics, statistical tools, programming language), then from what I understand - R is the winner without a doubt...
BTW, that was my motivation for starting the www.r-bloggers.com website. It now has over 110 bloggers (who write about R) there. When I started and looked for them on google, all I could find was bloggers who wrote about pirates :D
I am the original author of the post.
I just updated it with comments from people here, and with having a lengthy e-mail exchange with MetaOptimize founder.
Hope this gives a more balanced voice for people to respond to.