S is a statistical programming language developed primarily by John Chambers and (in earlier versions) Rick Becker and Allan Wilks of Bell Laboratories. The purpose of the language, as expressed by John Chambers, is "turn ideas into software, fast and faithful".
Modern Implementation S is R, part of the GNU free software project. S-PLUS, a commercial product, was previously sold by TIBCO Software.
Video S (programming language)
Histori
"Old S"
S is one of several statistical computing languages ââdesigned at Bell Laboratories, and first took shape between 1975-1976. Until then, most statistical computing was done by directly contacting Fortran subroutines; However, S is designed to offer an alternative and more interactive approach. Early design decisions applicable today include interactive graphics devices (printers and character terminals at the time), and provide easily accessible documentation for those functions.
The first working version S was built in 1976, and operated on the GCOS operating system. At this time, S is not named, and suggestions include Interactive SCS (ISCS) , Statistical Computing System , and Statistical Analysis System taken: see SAS System). The name 'S' (used with single quotes, until 1979) was chosen, because it has a common letter used in statistical computing, and is consistent with other programming languages ââdesigned from the same institution at the time (ie C programming language).
When UNIX/32V was ported to (then new) 32-bit DEC VAX, computing on the Unix platform became feasible for S. By the end of 1979, S ported from GCOS to UNIX, which would be the new main platform.
In 1980, the first version of S was distributed outside Bell Laboratories and in 1981 a source version was made available. In 1984 two books were published by the research team at Bell Laboratories: S: The Interactive Environment for Data Analysis and Graphics (1984 Brown Book) and Expanding System S . Also, in 1984 the source code for S became licensed through AT & amp Software Sales T for education and commercial purposes.
"New S"
In 1988, many changes were made to S and language syntax. The New S Language (1988 Blue Book) was published to introduce new features, such as the transition from the macro to the function and how the function can be forwarded to other functions (such as apply
). Many other changes to the S language are expanding the concept of "objects", and making the syntax more consistent (and strict). However, many users find the transition to New S difficult, because their macros need to be rewritten. Many other changes made by S, such as the use of X11 and PostScript graphics devices, rewrite many internal functions from Fortran to C, and the use of double precision (only) arithmetic. Language New S is very similar to that used in modern versions of S-PLUS and R.
In 1991, the Statistics Model in S (White Paper 1991) was published, which introduced the use of formula-notation (which uses ' ~ ' operator), data frame objects, and modifications on the use of object and class methods.
S4
The latest version of the S standard is S4, released in 1998. It provides advanced object-oriented features. The S4 class differs markedly from the S3 class.
Maps S (programming language)
References
External links
- Evolution of the S Language, by John M. Chambers, discusses the new features in Version 4 of S (in PostScript format)
- Stages in Evolution S, by John M. Chambers
Source of the article : Wikipedia