IML Studio R Interatctions

[SlutskyFan]

I just installed IML Studio. I have the documentation (Chapter 11
Calling Functions in the R Language) and I successfully submitted some basic R code just to see if it would work and it did. i'm very excited but I have a few discussion items. Note I have not invested a lot of time learning to use IML Studio yet.

1) Can you also submit SAS code from within IML Studio- it appears that you can't? I'm visualizing a scenario where I need base SAS to clean, merge, format, manipulate data prior to analysis. It appears I would have to start base SAS, do these things, and then import the final data set into IML Studio for analysis. Not a big deal, I could just keep all the data in one directory and point IML studio to the clean data (I assume).

2) Can someone point me to additional examples resources (papers, blog posts, presentations etc) related to interfacing R? I didn't have much luck with a Google search.

3) Do all R statements have to be interfaced from within IML Studio? ( I guess what I'm after is the ability to write SAS code and integrate calls to R from within). I'm guessing all R statements have to be interfaced from within IML Studio.

So this is how I visualize using IML Studio based on my current level of knowledge.

1) Use Base SAS to manage/clean/manipulate data
2) Use IML Studio for visualization and possibly analysis
3) If tools from R are needed, submit R code from IML Studio

Any suggestions?

I really like what I see so far from IML Studio, and realize I have a lot to learn to get an idea which product is the right tool for the specific project I'm working on. I'm also about to get an Enterprise Miner Installation which will add more fun into the mix.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Peace.

[Rick_SAS]

1) Yes, you can call SAS procedures from SAS/IML Studio.
I suggest you download the PDF for
SAS/IML Studio for SAS/STAT Users at
http://support.sas.com/documentation/cdl/en/imlsstat/63827/PDF/default/imlsstat.pdf
Chapters 4-7 deal with common tasks such as calling SAS procedures and importing the data into SAS/IML Studio.

2) The R interface was just announced last year, but there is a SAS Global Forum paper that presents examples that go beyond the documentation:
http://support.sas.com/rnd/app/papers/papers_iml.html
The 2010 paper has examples of calling both SAS and R. The 2008 paper features calling SAS.

There is also a new book on IML and IML Studio coming out, but, alas, it is not yet available: http://support.sas.com/publishing/authors/wicklin.html

3) At this point, SAS/IML Studio is the only SAS product that has an interface to R. (The next release of PROC IML will also feature an interface to R.)

Your "plan" on how to use IML Studio and call R when needed sounds right. That is essentially the way that I use the product for data analysis and the development of statisical algorithms.

[SlutskyFan]

This is exactly the kind of answer and references I was hoping for. Can't wait for that next release of PROC IML.

Thanks so much!