R is an open source programming language and software environment for statistical computing and graphics. It consists of a language together with a run-time environment with a debugger, graphics, access to system functions, and scripting.
R is an implementation of the S programming language, developed by Bell Laboratories, adding lexical scoping semantics. R offers a wide variety of statistical and graphical techniques including time series analysis, linear and nonlinear modelling, classical statistical tests, classification, clustering, and more). Combined with a large collection of intermediate tools for data analysis, good data handling and storage, general matrix calculation toolbox, R offers a coherent and well developed system which is highly extensible.
Many statisticians and data scientists use R with the command line. However, the command line can be quite daunting to a beginner of R. Fortunately, there are many different graphical user interfaces available for R which help to flatten the learning curve. We’ve restricted this group test to software that’s released under an open source license, and offers Integrated Development Environment (IDEs) facilities. Software like Jupyter Notebook and Radiant interface with R, but they are not IDEs.
Read our interactive tutorial for data science using R and RStudio. No programming knowledge required.
To provide an insight into the quality of software available for Linux, we have compiled a list of 9 top graphical user interfaces for R. Hopefully, there will be something of interest for anyone who wants to quickly get to grips with this programming language and environment. We give a strong recommendation to RStudio.
Here’s our verdict for each application. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion.
Click the links below to learn more about each program. We’ve compiled pages with full descriptions, images, and links to relevant resources for each application.
| Graphical User Interfaces for R | |
|---|---|
| RStudio | Professional software for R with a code editor, debugging & visualization tools |
| StatET for R | Eclipse based IDE (integrated development environment) for R |
| Rattle | R Analytic Tool To Learn Easily: Data Mining using R |
| jamovi | Provides R syntax for each analysis that is run |
| RKWard | Easy to use and easily extensible IDE/GUI |
| R Commander | A Basic-Statistics GUI for R |
| JGR | Universal and unified graphical user interface for R |
| Deducer | Intuitive, cross-platform graphical data analysis system |
Positron was previously included in this roundup but it no longer fits a strict “open source” filter because Posit describes it as Elastic License 2.0, i.e. source-available rather than OSI-open-source.
This article has been revamped in line with our recent announcement.
 LinuxLinks helps you discover the best free and open source software for Linux. Explore our extensive collection of recommended applications, including alternatives to popular proprietary software.We also publish software reviews, Linux tutorials, hardware reviews, free programming books and articles covering the wider open source community. Browse our Linux resources to discover more. Know a useful free and open source Linux application we haven't covered? Suggest a program for inclusion. Has your software been featured on LinuxLinks? Display one of our Featured on LinuxLinks badges on your website or GitHub README. |
Want to learn R? Check out these excellent free R books.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.