bill.venab...@csiro.au wrote: > I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think Peter is being a bit harsh on > SAS. > > I prefer Greg Snow's analogy (in the fortune collection): If SPSS (or > SAS) and R were vehicles, SPSS would be the bus, going on fixed routes and efficiently carrying lots of people to standard places, whereas R is the off-road 4WD SUV, complete with all sorts of kit including walking boots, kayak on the top, &c. R will take you anywhere you want to go, but it might take you longer to master it than the simple recipes for data analysis typical of the 'bus' programs.
I wasn't really trying to be harsh. I think my friend actually said something like "endearing mediocrity", and particularly the recruiting aspect is not something to take lightly if you have a business to run. Incidentally SAS is not quite as bus-like as SPSS - it does actually allow you to take the driver's seat as long as you keep to the road. It would be more like the pickup truck or delivery van: moves best in a straight line, but will take you between most places you need to go. I have Stata as the mini SUV city car (like SAS but quicker round the corners) Genstat as the Land Rover (a bit like R designed in the 60's, but still running) The F1 car would probably be Ox or Gauss or similar programs designed to do one kind of thing very efficiently. -pd > > Bill Venables > CSIRO/CMIS Cleveland Laboratories > > > -----Original Message----- > From: r-help-boun...@r-project.org [mailto:r-help-boun...@r-project.org] On > Behalf Of Peter Dalgaard > Sent: Thursday, 18 February 2010 5:55 PM > To: Frank E Harrell Jr > Cc: r-help@r-project.org; Cody Hamilton > Subject: Re: [R] Use of R in clinical trials > > Frank E Harrell Jr wrote: >> Cody, >> >> How amazing that SAS is still used to produce reports that reviewers >> hate and that requires tedious low-level programming. R + LaTeX has it >> all over that approach IMHO. We have used that combination very >> successfully for several data and safety monitoring reporting tasks for >> clinical trials for the pharmaceutical industry. >> >> Frank > > There is a point to it, though. One of my friends and colleagues in the > business put it in one word: Mediocrity. > > SAS does a mediocre job at analysing and reporting and data handling > using a mediocre control language. But: It can be handled by mediocre > programmers writing and modifying mediocre programs, and those people > are more available and replaceable, maybe even cheaper. R/LaTeX may run > circles around SAS in terms of capapilities, flexibility, and elegance, > but it can also send a programmer who doesn't have the required skill > set running around in circles. > > -pd > >> Cody Hamilton wrote: >>> Dear all, >>> >>> There have been a variety of discussions on the R list regarding the >>> use of R in clinical trials. The following post from the STATA list >>> provides an interesting opinion regarding why SAS remains so popular >>> in this arena: >>> http://www.stata.com/statalist/archive/2008-01/msg00098.html >>> >>> Regards, >>> >>> -Cody Hamilton > > -- O__ ---- Peter Dalgaard Øster Farimagsgade 5, Entr.B c/ /'_ --- Dept. of Biostatistics PO Box 2099, 1014 Cph. K (*) \(*) -- University of Copenhagen Denmark Ph: (+45) 35327918 ~~~~~~~~~~ - (p.dalga...@biostat.ku.dk) FAX: (+45) 35327907 ______________________________________________ R-help@r-project.org mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
