Software tools for data analysis; The future of R
Details
This meeting will have 2 parts:
In Part I. we'd like to develop a framework for talking in subsequent meetings about software tools that people use for data analysis. This part will be a moderated discussion on what are the main tools (such as R, C, Perl, Python, SPSS, Matlab, SAS, SQL, Hadoop to just mention a few), and which ones we'd like to hear more about in subsequent meetings (short 10-15 mins talks). We'll also discuss what information should these short talks contain for each tool, for example usefulness for data analysis, comparison with R, extensions, does the tool interface with R (both directions), what kind of data is this tool used for analyzing (e.g. numeric, categorical, unstructured text), what part of the data analysis process is it best used for (e.g. pre-processing, exploration/visualization, modeling etc.), learning curve of the tool etc. We'll also discuss how to select/blend together all these tools for an optimal data analysis workflow.
Moderators: Szilard and Jan
In Part II. we'll have some discussions on the future of R. This has been inspired by the recent discussions on the same topic on quite a few blogs. Avram Aelony will introduce the topic and we'll follow with open discussions.
Avram will speak about:
- What R is good/great at
- What R is not good/great at (e.g. Big Data processing, brief mention of Ross Ihaka's paper)
- What Big Data is
- What looks promising today for the treatment of Big Data.
Bio of Avram Aelony: Avram made his start in the analytics space in bio-pharma in the mid-90's. A former Yahoo and language polyglot, he has most recently worked at prominent technology companies. His main analytic toolkit consists of Unix, Perl, and R, with hesitant proficiency in SAS, C++, and Java. Most recently he is excited by Clojure. He holds a Public Health degree in Epidemiology & Biostatistics from Boston University and currently analyzes Big Data at eHarmony using Hive, Hadoop, and map-reduce.
Please RSVP as places are limited.
UPDATE: We'll have pizza sponsored by Revolution Analytics. Pizza will be in the SCC room at 6:15pm.
Venue and starting time as usual: UCLA Boelter Hall Room 9413 (the lab), 6:30pm
Important message for first comers: Please consult the detailed venue information given at the first meeting as many people had difficulties finding the place the first time: https://www.meetup.com... (https://www.meetup.com/LAarea-R-usergroup/calendar/10154603/)
