BrailleR, a R package to improve access for blind users

From CRAN:

Blind users do not have access to the graphical output from R without printing the content of graphics windows to an embosser of some kind. This is not as immediate as is required for efficient access to statistical output. The functions here are created so that blind people can make even better use of R. This includes the text descriptions of graphs, convenience functions to replace the functionality offered in many GUI front ends, and experimental functionality for optimising graphical content to prepare it for embossing as tactile images.

Has anyone tried this yet? It sounds really useful.

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Understanding the SVG path element, a visual guide

The SVG path element can be useful for drawing regular and irregular shapes. However, if you just look at how a path is defined, it’s not entirely clear how to use it. Nanda Syahrasyad made a visual guide to help you figure it out.

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Switching from Python to R

If you’re looking to switch or just want to expand your skills, this starter guide by Stephanie Lo provides some translations:

Are you curious about delving into the world of R programming? While Python remains the dominant choice amongst the data science community, with approximately 60% of developers using it in 2022, there are instances where R may pop up now and again. That’s because R is optimized for statistics and data. If you, like me, have a foundation in Python but now encounter job listings and internal company tasks that demand R skills, this article aims to break that down. We will explore the fundamental distinctions between Python and R and wrap the project into a data cleaning and visualization tutorial to ensure a smooth transition to R.

I mostly use R, but have always found it helpful to know some Python, especially when there’s some fun library to try.

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Scrolly video JavaScript library

ScrollyVideo.js is a JavaScript library that makes it easier to incorporate videos in a scrollytelling layout. The examples look really straightforward, which means I’m saving this for later.

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Deleting your tweets with R

Twitter isn’t in a great place right now, so maybe you want to do something with your account and your tweets. Julia Silge outlines how to delete your tweets with R:

If you are looking to remove yourself from Twitter, you can delete your account, but I’ve seen some folks say a better initial move may be to delete the content from your account (perhaps including followers and following), and then take your account private or deactivate it. In this blog post, I’ll walk through how to use rtweet to automate some of these steps.

Social media in general hasn’t been my thing for a few years now, so I’m not sure what I’m going to do, but you can find me on Mastadon. Or we can go back to blogs Xanga-style, and I’d be okay with that.

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Procedural dungeons in R

Matt Dray is developing a package in R that runs a text-based game. Part of that game requires procedural dungeons that are different each time you play.

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Spike maps in R

Spike maps use the height of spikes to encode data geographically. The format provides a similar effect to frequency trails where the layering looks 3-D-ish, except spikes are typically centered on an area instead of running parallel.

Anyways, like most visualization methods with a name, there is an R package for spike maps by Timothée Giraud.

If D3.js is your jam, there’s also a solution for that. You can also take the no-code route with Datawrapper.

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Posted by in Coding, package, R

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A Succinct Intro to R

Before you get into analysis and visualizing data with R, you need to know the basics. Steve Haroz wrote a guide on getting started:

This book is a short introduction to the R language. It covers the basics of R that are not covered by analysis and visualization guides like R for Data Science. Consider it a quick way to get up to speed on R before diving into the analysis and visualization aspects.

This example-focused guide assumes you are familiar with programming concepts but want to learn the R language. It offers more examples than an “R cheat sheet” without the verbosity of a language spec or an introduction to programming.

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Using noise in creative coding

Oftentimes visuals generated through code can seem cold and mechanical when you’re after something more warm that breathes life. Introducing organized noise into the mix is one path. Varun Vachhar describes how you might use noise in the context creative coding.

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Guide for React with D3.js

Amelia Wattenberger wrote a guide on how you can use the JavaScript library React with D3.js. I know next to nothing about the former, but probably should, so this was useful.

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