Chapter 9 Installing R & RStudio
If you have a Windows, Mac, or Linux operating system, you have several ways in which you can begin working in R. Commonly, users install R on their computer along with an integrated development environment (IDE) software application like RStudio, which is owned by Posit. Posit Cloud (https://posit.cloud/), which was formerly called RStudio Cloud, has emerged as an alternative to installing R and RStudio by allowing users to use R and RStudio via the cloud, which notably allows those using the Google Chrome operating system to access R and RStudio.
9.1 Video Tutorial
When it comes to learning how to use and apply R I’ve found that some people prefer written tutorials, others prefer video tutorials, and some like to learn using a combination of written and video tutorials. When first starting out, you might find it easier to follow along with a video tutorial, and as you get more comfortable with R, you may begin to prefer the written tutorials that are integrated into each chapter. Generally, the written tutorials contain more information and often more functions and operations, whereas the video tutorial provides the “need to know” information, functions, and operations. Because this first chapter is just focused on downloading and installing the R and RStudio programs, the written tutorial provided below may suffice; however, if you get stuck, you might find it useful to check out the video tutorial. As a final note, I created the video tutorial embedded in this book using a Windows computer, and thus there might be some minor aesthetic differences in the RStudio interface – as well as differences in hot keys (e.g., Ctrl+C vs. Command+C).
Link to video tutorial: https://youtu.be/b18IHQERT4A
9.2 Downloading & Installing R
In the following sections, you will learn how to download and install the R program for Windows and Mac operating systems. The base R program must be installed prior to installing the RStudio program. R is open-source software and free to download.
9.2.1 For Windows Operation Systems
R can currently run under operating systems as old as Windows Vista (circa 2007). To download R for your Windows operating system for the first time, click on this link: https://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/base/. Once you are on the R download page, click on the hyperlink to download the current version of R for Windows. Once the file has downloaded, follow the installation prompts.
9.2.2 For Mac Operating Systems
The current version of R works with Mac OS X (release 10.6 and higher). To download R for Mac OS X operating system for the first time, click on this link: https://cran.r-project.org/bin/macosx/. If you have Mac OS X 10.11 or higher, click on the hyperlink (with .pkg extension) under the “Latest release” section to begin your download. If you have Mac OS X 10.10 or lower, click on the appropriate hyperlink (with .pkg extension) under the “Binaries for legacy OS X systems” section. Once the file has downloaded, follow the installation prompts.
I don’t advise using a Mac operating system that is older than Mac OS X 10.6 (which came out in 2009), as you may run into issues when using certain R packages for data analysis and visualization.
9.3 Downloading & Installing RStudio
RStudio is not required to use R; however, RStudio offers a number of helpful features and a user-friendly interface. More specifically, RStudio is an integrated development environment (IDE) for R. The desktop version of RStudio is free to download from the Posit website. To do so, click on this link: https://posit.co/download/rstudio-desktop/.
- Make sure that you have already installed the R program to your computer (see above).
- Click on the button labeled “Download RStudio Desktop.” Again, this version is free.
- Once the file has downloaded, follow the installation prompts.