Advanced R Programming

2018

TL; DR

Push your R skills so you can write fancy functions in the tidyverse, process bigger data in R using data.table, and learn how to use R to run Python, JavaScript, & C++.

Session Details

If you’re relatively comfortable with R but find yourself needing to level up your skills this day is for you. Whether you’re hitting in-memory constraints, needing the latest and greatest machine learning algorithm, having to code defensively, or simply needing to get more stuff done, you’ll get a lot from this day of training. This hands-on day will equip you with more tools for performing data engineering and data science in R.

We’ll be covering the following:

Fast and efficient data processing in R with data.table for improved native R performance
Working with active external connections in dplyr to push data manipulation to databases
Leveraging functional programming for working with lists, unstructured data objects, and improving error handling
Going beyond base R statistics with native-R solutions (caret and the tidyverse) and connected solutions (h2o and spark) for better interfaces, new techniques, and working at scale
Incorporating Python, JavaScript, and C++ into your R code to extend R or leverage already coded solutions easily

Pre-requisites
You should already be comfortable with R - ideally you’ll have used the tidyverse for data manipulation and data visualisation.
Laptop Required:Yes

Spec: Machines at or higher than 8Gb RAM + i5 cpu are ideal
Software: R, R Studio, Java, SQL Server ODBC 13 driver (recommended)
Subscriptions: Slack for comms & help throughout but will send link closer to the time

3 things you'll get out of this session

Steph Locke's previous sessions

How to build brilliant managers (including yourself)

Don't just chuck great techies into management as a "promotion" and expect them to be fine! Learn how (and how not to) build a solid management track that helps you and managers in your org be a better manager.

Working with data using Azure Functions

Azure Functions are great for a wide range of scenarios, including working with data on a transactional or event-driven basis. In this session, we'll look at how you can interact with Azure SQL, Cosmos DB, Event Hubs, and more so you can see how you can take a lightweight but code-first approach to building APIs, integrations, ETL, and maintenance routines.

Learn how to build bots that can reduce ticket volumes, help people get answers quickly, and reduce manual processes with no and low code bots with Microsoft Bot Framework and Power Virtual Agents

Build or buy AI?

If AI is on the cards in your business you might need to make a recommendation as to whether your company should Buy or Build. Come to this session to work out the moving parts to turn "It Depends!" into an answer.

Preparing your business for data science

So you're thinking about doing implementing data science project in your business? If you fail to plan, you plan to fail, so come to this session to help you construct your data science plan to help you succeed!

data.table power hour

Learn how to use this fantastic package in R for high-speed, low-code table wrangling.

Shiny: dashboards in R

Need a snazzy dashboarding tool, and want it free or cheap? With a modicum of R and Linux knowledge, you can make interactive realtime dashboards for free that can be used in any web browser. Learn how in this session.

R was originally for doing stats, but it now does database CRUD, reporting, documentation, and even websites. It can be awkward to know where to start, so this session fast tracks you to the sections you need to know about.