From ripley@stats.ox.ac.uk  Mon Apr  2 22:56:44 2001
From: ripley@stats.ox.ac.uk (Prof Brian D Ripley)
Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2001 22:56:44 +0100 (BST)
Subject: [Rd] generic database access methods
In-Reply-To: <3AC8F176.3090805@StonyBrook.Edu>
Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.4.31.0104022247390.18788-100000@auk.stats>

On Mon, 2 Apr 2001, Timothy H. Keitt wrote:

> I have a package ready to distribute for testing.  Its actually a package cluster
> with "Rdbi.base" and "Rdbi.PgSQL."  I've moved the main read loop out of R and
> into C and now get around 200K integer reads a second (includes copying results
> into a data frame).  I'm happy for someone to take over from here (or to propose
> an alternative framework).  Perhaps we can make it a group effort (transfer copyright
> to the R project, etc.)  I would suggest that we start with the absolute minimal
> interface and add features very carefully.  It would be great to see a general
> database framework make it into a future release of R.

Three comments:

(1) We are still trying to figure out how to set up a framework for
discussions of this sort (Martin: any progress on SIG lists)?

(2) It is unlikely that this will `make it into a future release of R', as
our aim is to make R smaller not larger.  Rather, what we would like (I
believe) is a `Recommended Package' that fits alongside R.  We intend to
unbundle quite a lot of what is already there so R has a small kernel and
lots of addons.  There are practical reasons (embedding in other
applications) as well as aesthetic ones.

(3) This is an area where common solutions across R/S would be very
welcome.

Lots of things came out of the Vienna meeting, and some of us at least
had/have still to catch up on our day jobs too, so please bear with us
while we get things set up.  A unified databases interface is definitely on
the list.

Brian

-- 
Brian D. Ripley,                  ripley@stats.ox.ac.uk
Professor of Applied Statistics,  http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~ripley/
University of Oxford,             Tel:  +44 1865 272861 (self)
1 South Parks Road,                     +44 1865 272860 (secr)
Oxford OX1 3TG, UK                Fax:  +44 1865 272595

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[Rd] generic database access methods
Prof Brian D Ripley