Command-Line Conveniences

Working with a command line has a long history. Despite the popularity of GUIs, command lines still have many aficionados, as they are more expressive—and, once some conveniences are learned—usually much faster to use. For reproducible research they are great, as they can record the exact commands used. There are drawbacks, though. Typing can be a chore, proper command syntax is essential, and the user needs to have intimate knowledge of the function and its arguments. All of these can be huge obstacles to newcomers to R. Over time, these drawbacks of command-line usage have been lessened through techniques such as tab completion, keyboard shortcuts, and history stacks.

We discuss RStudio’s implementation of these next. Becoming well-versed in these features can help you turn the command line from a distant stranger into a welcome friend.