Emacs Speaks Statistics: A Multiplatform, Multipackage Development Environment for Statistical Analysis

Abstract

Computer programming is an important component of statistical research and data analysis. It is a necessary skill for using sophisticated statistical packages and for writing custom scripts and software to perform data analysis using modern statistical methods. Emacs Speaks Statistics (ESS) provides an intelligent and consistent interface between the user and statistics software. ESS interfaces with SAS, S-Plus, R, and other statistics packages under the Unix, Microsoft Windows, and Apple Macintosh operating systems. ESS extends the Emacs text editor to streamline the use and creation of statistical software. ESS understands the syntax for numerous data analysis languages, provides consistent display and editing features across packages, and assists in the interactive or batch execution of statements by statistics packages. We describe in detail the features that ESS provides to increase efficiency.