Running R scripts

Referencing Analytics data in the R script

The Analytics table is passed to the script as an R data frame. Data frames are tabular data objects that may contain columns of different modes, or types, of data.

To work with the data frame created by Analytics in an R script, invoke the acl.readData() function and store the returned data frame in a variable:

# stores the Analytics table in a data frame called myTable that can be referenced throughout the script
myTable<-acl.readData()

To retrieve data from a cell in the data frame, you can use one of the following approaches:

• Using row and column coordinates:

  # Retrieves the value in the first row and second column of the data frame
  myTable[1,2]

  Note

  Coordinates are based on the order of fields specified in the command, not the table layout or view that is currently open.

• Using row and column names:

  # Retrieves the value in the first row and "myColumnTitle" column of the data frame
  myTable["1","myColumnTitle"]

  You must specify the KEEPTITLE option of the command to use column names.

  Rows are named "1", "2", "3", and increment accordingly. You may also use a combination of names and coordinates.

Passing data back to Analytics

To return a data frame or matrix back to Analytics and create a new table, use the following syntax:

# Passes myNewTable data frame back to Analytics to create a new table 
acl.output<-myNewTable

R data mapping

Analytics data types are translated into R data types using a translation process between the Analytics project and the R script:

Analytics data type	R data type(s)
Logical	Logical
Numeric	Numeric
Character	Character
Datetime	Date, POSIXct, POSIXlt

Performance and file size limits

The time it takes to run your R script and process the data that is returned increases for input data exceeding 1 GB. R does not support input files of 2 GB or higher.

The number of records sent to R also affects performance. For two tables with the same file size but a differing record count, processing the table with fewer records is faster.

Handling multi-byte character data

If you are sending data to R in a multi-byte character set, such as Chinese, you must set the system locale appropriately in your R script. To successfully send a table of multi-byte data to R, the first line of the R script must contain the following function:

# Example that sets locale to Chinese
Sys.setlocale("LC_ALL","Chinese")

For more information about Sys.setlocale( ), see the R documentation.

Hello world example

Analytics command

RCOMMAND FIELDS "Hello", ", world!" TO "r_result" RSCRIPT "C:\scripts\r_scripts\analysis.r"

R script (analysis.r)

srcTable<-acl.readData()

# create table to send back to ACL
output<-data.frame(
  c(srcTable[1,1]),
  c(srcTable[1,2])
)

# add column names and send table back to ACL
colnames(output) <- c("Greeting","Subject")
acl.output<-output