Eliminating the need for packages in base R?

Question

This question was migrated from Cross Validated because it can be answered on Stack Overflow. Migrated 23 hours ago .

I know one of the reasons R is so popular is because of its amazing packages. But for data security reasons, I can't install packages on my work computer. So, it got me thinking if I could still make R do what I would typically make it do using packages with just base R, since packages are, after all, a compiled list of functions. I am wondering if it is possible run regression models and make charts in base R (without using, say ggplot2 , caret , etc.). Is it possible to copy the functions in these packages into base R to get the same functionality out of base R as one would if they were using the packages? Is the list of functions that are published as part of these packages available somewhere publicly by chance?

Answer 1

I am wondering if it is possible run regression models and make charts in base R (without using, say ggplot2, caret, etc.).

Yes, before ggplot2 was invented, R was genereally praised for publication ready graphics. R comes with great plotting capabilities without ggplot2 even though the latter is definitively an improvement. Obviously, people used R for regression decades before caret was invented. A base R installation comes with a solid set of linear and nonlinear regression methods but obviously, all those packages (well, most of them) have a reason to exist. It will mainly depend on what you plan to do use. Many things are implemented in a base installation, many are not.

You can find lists of packages included with all binary distributions of R here: https://cran.r-project.org/doc/manuals/r-release/R-FAQ.html#Add_002don-packages-in-R You will find, that that not only includes the stats package but lots of useful modelling packages like MASS , splines , boot , mgcv , nlme , cluster , rpart , spatial and survival , so a large number of even specialized models is at hand without additional downloading of packages.

Is it possible to copy the functions in these packages into base R to get the same functionality out of base R as one would if they were using the packages?

Many packages contain just plain R code, others will contain code in other languages, mostly C and C++, which will need a compiler to be translated on your system. However, where the use of foreign code / packages is considered a security breach, you should refrain from that and talk to your employer.

If it is not considered a problem but they do not want to make exceptions for you and your installation -- I was in the same place for quite some time and I just ran R from a USB stick. If that is allowed and feasible on your system, you can download packages to that USB stick installation.