01_2_preclass4wed.md

Week 1: Preclass homework for Wednesday

1. If you haven't done so for a while, update R and RStudio to the latest versions.
   • R: https://cran.r-project.org/
   • RStudio desktop free: https://www.rstudio.com/products/rstudio/download/
   • If you're on windows, I usually uninstall the current R first but you can leave both versions installed. On MacOS or Linux, installing will update your current R installation. Installing R studio will update the current installation on Win, MacOS and Linux.
   • I'm on R 4.2.1 and RStudio 2022.07.1+554
   • There is some risk to updating if you have somewhat complex current projects with lots of packages as package updates could break your existing code. If you're worried about that, stay with what you've got.
2. Get set up with Git and Github. Follow the instructions in skills_tutorials/git01_setup.md.
3. Watch the video lecture on "What is an algorithm?"
   • 01_3_slides_what_is_an_algorithm.pdf
   • 01_3_video_what_is_an_algorithm.md - 8 mins
4. If you're new to R or want a refresher (not a bad idea even if you're a pro and especially if you've only ever used the "tidyverse" dialect), run through the basics of R base
   • skills_tutorials/rbase01_basics.R
   • You'll need this dataset: skills_tutorials/rbase01_cats.csv
   • Find a handy R base reference here: skills_tutorials/rbase02_help_keywords.md
5. Read my overview:
   • Data science and algorithms.