RE: st: RE: (New) Popularity of R, SAS, SPSS, Stata...

["Muenchen, Robert A (Bob)" <muenchen@utk.edu>]

>-----Original Message-----
>From: owner-statalist@hsphsun2.harvard.edu [mailto:owner-
>statalist@hsphsun2.harvard.edu] On Behalf Of Nick Cox
>Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 5:51 AM
>To: statalist@hsphsun2.harvard.edu
>Subject: RE: st: RE: (New) Popularity of R, SAS, SPSS, Stata...
>
>I don't want to seem pugnacious, but "similar" remains a weasel word.
>
>As I understand it:
>
>Bioconductor downloads are some fraction, unknown and also variable in
>time, of user-written R material.
>
>SSC downloads are some fraction, unknown and also variable in time, of
>user-written Stata material.
>
>If that counts as "similar", so be it. And these facts will be familiar
>to those familiar with R and Stata. But the underlying fractions and
>time dependence could be very different.
>
>I know we are just talking proxies here, and it's tedious to read
>through lots of qualifications and caveats, but they remain essential
>for a proper understanding here.

I agree. Plenty of readers won't know R or Stata. It's a worthwhile
change. 

Thanks,
Bob

>
>Nick
>n.j.cox@durham.ac.uk
>
>Muenchen, Robert A (Bob)
>
>I said that the downloads on that link are similar to those of
>Bioconductor. It's similar in that they contain only add-ons. Neither
>the Bioconductor site nor SSC contain the main products, R and Stata,
>respectively. But I can see that people who don't know Bioconductor
>would have no way of knowing that. I've changed that sentence to
clarify
>it:
>
>"Similar figures for downloads of Stata add-ons (not Stata itself) are
>available at
>http://logec.repec.org/scripts/itemstat.pf?type=redif-software.";
>
>Nick Cox
>
>>This document repeats a misconception already corrected publicly
>>
>><http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/lwgate/STATALIST/archives/statali
s
>t
>>.1006/date/article-1172.html>
>>
>>-- namely that SSC downloads are in some sense equivalent to Stata
>>downloads. Downloads from Stata's own website and from user-maintained
>>sites other than SSC are not included in SSC data. I don't have any
>>figures for Bob, but I am confident that SSC data alone greatly
>>underestimate download activity. You only have to realise that all
>>-update-s are excluded to see that. Of course, SSC data are of
interest
>>in their own right, but at best they are a proxy for Stata activity in
>>total.
>
>
>*
>*   For searches and help try:
>*   http://www.stata.com/help.cgi?search
>*   http://www.stata.com/support/statalist/faq
>*   http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/

*
*   For searches and help try:
*   http://www.stata.com/help.cgi?search
*   http://www.stata.com/support/statalist/faq
*   http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/