Date:         Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:50:51 -0400
Reply-To:     Peter Flom <peterflomconsulting@mindspring.com>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Peter Flom <peterflomconsulting@MINDSPRING.COM>
Subject:      Re: SAS matrix is compared to R's-Does the formula be same on
              both software?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

I lost the beginning of this thread.... but someone asked:

>Does someone can explain what's the difference between R and SAS? My
>company is going to cut off SAS and use R instead of. Is that wise
>decision?
>

Hard to say without more information.

R is, of course, free.  That could be a big advantage.

Other advantages of R:
   More cutting edge statistics.
   Easier to use graphics (at least, that's my experience)
   Many many packages..... often multiple packages to do the same thing
   You can (often) talk directly to the person who wrote the code and (most of them) are friendly
   The code is open and can be modified by you
   Documentation is much terser

Disadvantages of R:
   No tech support
   Can have problems with large datasets (but this is improving)
   Many many packages .... often multiple packages to do the same thing.
   The code is open and can be messed up by you
   Documentation is much terser
   Data manipulation is not as flexible as SAS (but with enough ingenuity, a lot can be done)

SAS is more user friendly
R is more expert friendly

HTH

Peter

Peter L. Flom, PhD
Statistical Consultant
www DOT peterflom DOT com