R: a data analysis and statistical programming environment-an emerging tool for the geosciences

A statistical computation, programming and graphics language is available at no cost under the GNU Public Licence. This programming environment is available in source code and binary code forms and is supported for a number of operating systems. The R language is similar to the S language and is a package that allows users to apply methods of data analysis, statistics and graphical rendering of results in an interactive windows-based environment. The R language is supported by a large development and user's group. Additional data analysis and statistical libraries have been contributed by many users and can be obtained from the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN).