Table of Contents
Introduction
Before diving into the mathematical concepts and experiments in this book, it's essential to set up your R environment correctly. R, a powerful language for statistical computing and graphics, will be our tool for live experimentation and visualization in math. This setup guide assumes that you have R already installed on your system.
Why R?
- Interactive Learning: R allows for interactive experimentation with mathematical concepts, enhancing understanding.
- Visualization: With R, you can visualize complex mathematical functions and data, making abstract concepts more tangible.
- Accessibility: R is open-source and widely used, making it an accessible choice for learners.
Installing the ggplot2 Package
Open your R interpreter. You can do this by running the 'R' command in your terminal, and install the libraries used in this book for the examples and experimentation.
ggplot2
ggplot2 is a widely used R package for creating complex and beautiful plots. It's an essential tool for visualizing mathematical functions and data in this book.
install.packages("ggplot2")
Verifying the Installation
To ensure that ggplot2 is installed correctly and ready for use, you can load the package and create a simple plot:
library(ggplot2)
ggplot(data.frame(x = 1:10, y = 1:10), aes(x, y)) + geom_line()
If you the following line plot without errors, your ggplot2 installation is successful.
polynom
install.packages("polynom")