R语言数据挖掘案例.docxVIP

Data Mining with R: learning by case studies Luis Torgo LIACC-FEP, University of Porto R. Campo Alegre, 823 - 4150 Porto, Portugal email: ltorgo@liacc.up.pt http://www.liacc.up.pt/～ltorgo May 22, 2003 ( (DRAFT - May 22, 2003) PAGE \* roman PAGE \* roman v Preface The main goal of this book is to introduce the reader to the use of R as a tool for performing data mining. R is a freely downloadable 1 language and environment for statistical computing and graphics. Its capabilities and the large set of available packages make this tool an excellent alternative to the existing (and expensive!) data mining tools. One of the key issues in data mining is size. A typical data mining problem involves a large database from where one seeks to extract useful knowledge. In this book we will use MySQL as the core database management system. MySQL is also freely available 2 for several computer platforms. This means that you will be able to perform “serious” data mining without having to pay any money at all. Moreover, we hope to show you that this comes with no compromise in the quality of the obtained solutions. Expensive tools do not necessarily mean better tools! R together with MySQL form a pair very hard to beat as long as you are willing to spend some time learning how to use them. We think that it is worthwhile, and we hope that you are convinced as well at the end of reading this book. The goal of this book is not to describe all facets of data mining processes. Many books exist that cover this area. Instead we propose to introduce the reader to the power of R and data mining by means of several case studies. Obviously, these case studies do not represent all possible data mining problems that one can face in the real world. Moreover, the solutions we describe can not be taken as complete solutions. Our goal is more to introduce the reader to the world of data mining using R through pratical examples. As such our analysis of the cases studies has the goal of