Emacs Speaks Statistics
Encyclopedia
Emacs Speaks Statistics (ESS) is an Emacs
package of modes for statistical languages. It adds two types of modes to emacs:
Modes of types (1) and (2) work seamlessly together. In addition, modes of type (1) provide the capability to submit a batch job for statistical packages like
SAS, BUGS or Just another Gibbs sampler
when an interactive session is unwanted due to the potentially lengthy time required for the task to complete.
With Emacs Speaks Statistics, the user can conveniently edit statistical language commands in one emacs buffer, and execute the code in a second. There are a number of advantages of doing data analysis using Emacs/ESS in this way, rather than interacting with R, S-PLUS or other software directly. First, as indicated above, ESS provides a convenient way of writing and executing code without frequently switching between programs. This also encourages the good practice of keeping a record of one's data analysis, equivalent to working from do-files in Stata
. Third, since emacs is also an able editor of LaTeX
files, it facilitates the integration of data analysis and written text with Sweave
.
Emacs
Emacs is a class of text editors, usually characterized by their extensibility. GNU Emacs has over 1,000 commands. It also allows the user to combine these commands into macros to automate work.Development began in the mid-1970s and continues actively...
package of modes for statistical languages. It adds two types of modes to emacs:
- ESS modes for editing statistical languages like R and SAS; and
- inferior ESS (iESS) modes for interacting with statistical processes like R and SAS.
Modes of types (1) and (2) work seamlessly together. In addition, modes of type (1) provide the capability to submit a batch job for statistical packages like
SAS, BUGS or Just another Gibbs sampler
Just another Gibbs sampler
Just another Gibbs sampler is a program for analysis of Bayesian hierarchical models using Markov chain Monte Carlo developed by Martyn Plummer...
when an interactive session is unwanted due to the potentially lengthy time required for the task to complete.
With Emacs Speaks Statistics, the user can conveniently edit statistical language commands in one emacs buffer, and execute the code in a second. There are a number of advantages of doing data analysis using Emacs/ESS in this way, rather than interacting with R, S-PLUS or other software directly. First, as indicated above, ESS provides a convenient way of writing and executing code without frequently switching between programs. This also encourages the good practice of keeping a record of one's data analysis, equivalent to working from do-files in Stata
Stata
Stata is a general-purpose statistical software package created in 1985 by StataCorp. It is used by many businesses and academic institutions around the world...
. Third, since emacs is also an able editor of LaTeX
LaTeX
LaTeX is a document markup language and document preparation system for the TeX typesetting program. Within the typesetting system, its name is styled as . The term LaTeX refers only to the language in which documents are written, not to the editor used to write those documents. In order to...
files, it facilitates the integration of data analysis and written text with Sweave
Sweave
Sweave is a function in the statistical programming language R that enables integration of R code into LaTeX or LyX documents. The purpose is "to create dynamic reports, which can be updated automatically if data or analysis change"....
.