R Graphics (Chapman &Hall/CRC The R Series) [Hardcover]

Paul Murrell (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 158488486X | ISBN-13: 978-1584884866 | Publication Date: July 29, 2005 | Edition: 1

R is revolutionizing the world of statistical computing. Powerful, flexible, and best of all free, R is now the program of choice for tens of thousands of statisticians.

Destined to become an instant classic, R Graphics presents the first complete, authoritative exposition on the R graphical system. Paul Murrell, widely known as the leading expert on R graphics, has developed an in-depth resource that takes nothing for granted and helps both neophyte and seasoned users master the intricacies of R graphics. After an introductory overview of R graphics facilities, the presentation first focuses on the traditional graphics system, showing how to work the traditional functions, describing functions that are available to produce complete plots, and how to customize the details of plots.

The second part of the book describes the grid graphics system - a system unique to R and much more powerful than the traditional system. The author, who was integral in the development of the grid system, shows, starting from a blank page, how it can be used to produce graphical scenes. He also describes how to develop new graphical functions that are easy for others to use and build on. Appendices contain a brief introduction to the R system in general and discuss how the traditional and grid graphics systems can be combined.

Much of the information presented in this book cannot be found anywhere else. Well ahead of the curve, particularly regarding the grid system, R Graphics will have a major impact on the future direction of statistical graphics development.

The author maintains a website with more information.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: Chapman and Hall/CRC; 1 edition (July 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158488486X
• ISBN-13: 978-1584884866
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #821,018 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A seminal work, September 5, 2005

By 

Peter Flom (New York City) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: R Graphics (Chapman &Hall/CRC The R Series) (Hardcover)

Having read material by Dr. Murrell in R news and other places, I was expecting a great book. I was not disappointed. This is the clearest and most complete explanation of graphics in R that I have seen.

It's in 2 parts (or maybe 2 1/2). The first deals with the 'traditional' graphics system, the second with the Grid graphics system. Also included is an discussion of the Lattice package (that's the 1/2), and various other packages.

My only caveat is that you will probably want to be at least a little familiar with R before using this book. There's a brief introduction to R in an appendix, but it isn't, and doesn't pretend to be, comprehensive. However, there are extensive references to material that can help the novice learn more about R.

In my opinion, R is the best program for statistical graphics, and this is the best book on how to get the most out of it.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a how-to or cookbook for R graphics, April 10, 2007

By 

Eugene Mah "physics geek" (Charleston, SC USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: R Graphics (Chapman &Hall/CRC The R Series) (Hardcover)

The book provides a good introduction to the R graphics system and gives a very good presentation of the kinds of graphs you can generate using R. This book is definitely not a how-to or cookbook for R graphics though. The book assumes the reader is already familiar with R and the graphics related commands, so there's not much explanation of the short code snippets that go along with the figures. If you're new to R, this book won't show you how to create graphs. It will show you the graphing capabilities of R though and possibly get you interested enough to keep using R.

If you do know R, what this book *will* show you is how to do more complex things with R graphics. Half the book covers the traditional graphics model, while the other half covers the Grid and Trellis graphics models. This will be the interesting part of the book because Grid and Trellis look like they let users create really neat graphs and data representations with R.

I would have liked to see some more complete examples in the book, but at least there's an accompanying website that contains all the code used to generate the graphs and errata for the book. This would be a good addition to an R user's bookshelf.

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not for a Beginner, May 10, 2008

By 

Everett Ramer - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: R Graphics (Chapman &Hall/CRC The R Series) (Hardcover)

I am new to R and needed to create a particular style of heat map for a project. I spent 3 weeks studying this book's table of contents, sample chapter, examples on the author's website, etc. until the day came when I needed prepare my presentation. So I went ahead and bought the book. It was not what I needed and, in fact, I have not found it useful in the 2 months that I have owned it. Before the book even arrived I discovered the R Graph Gallery ([...]), which has a heat map that met my needs. My advice to those who are beginning to learn R is to be patient and use the many free, high-quality resources available on the internet for perhaps up to a year before starting to buy books.