syllabus.rmd

---
layout: default_with_disqus
title: Syllabus
---

```{r, echo=FALSE}
# in true geek fashion I am going to use R to calculate the dates
# by giving the week of the course and the day to some functions
# in lubridate.  This way I can change the course to a different
# season and or format, and Voila! All the dates change appropriately.
library(lubridate)
StartSun <- ymd("20141005")  # Sunday of the week that the course starts
WD <- (1:7)
names(WD) <- c("Su", "Mo", "Tu", "We", "Th", "Fr", "Sa")
LWD <- c("Sunday", "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday", "Saturday")
names(LWD) <- names(WD)
# given day D (like "Tu"), and Week of course W (1, 2, etc.)
# and the date of the sunday before the first course meeting
# this formats a string to print for a heading below
course_day <- function(D, W) {
  c_date <- StartSun + weeks(W-1) + days(WD[D]-1)
  paste(LWD[D], ", ", month(c_date, label = TRUE, abbr = FALSE), " ", mday(c_date), ", ", year(c_date), sep="")
}
```


# Syllabus  {#syllabus}

Here is the outline of the topics, readings, and assignments for our
course.  Readings should be done _before_ the session that they are listed
for.  For example, if it says Reading X is for Tuesday Oct 14, then 
you should have done that reading prior to coming to the class at 
3:30 on Oct 14.  

Most assignments will be "turned in" on GitHub, and will be due at the
time stated.  Don't let this get your blood pressure up.  This course is
not for credit and you will not be graded.  But you will learn a lot more
and you will be far more likely to benefit from using R and git and GitHub if
you do the assignments.


## Week 1 {#syl-week-1}

### `r  course_day("Tu", 1)`
_Introduction and Welcome. R and Rstudio very basics_

* __Assignment Due:__ [Assignment 0](#assignment-0)  Please have all software installed before showing up to the first class.
* __Assignment Given (Due by noon on Wednesday):__ [Assignment 1](#assignment-1)
* __Lectures:__
    + [Introduction](#intro-lecture)
    + [Rstudio Orientation](#rstudio-orientation)


### `r  course_day("Th", 1)`
_An introduction to R markdown_

* __Assignment Due:__ [Assignment 2](#assignment-2) There is nothing to turn in, but I want everyone to do this.


## Week 2 {#syl-week-2}

### `r  course_day("Tu", 2)`
_Atomic data types, Vectorization, Indexing in R_

* __Reading:__ By this class, I would like you to have read the [Introduction](http://adv-r.had.co.nz/Introduction.html) to Hadley Wickham's advanced R book, up to, but not including, "Meta-techniques". Then, please read through [Data structures](http://adv-r.had.co.nz/Data-structures.html) up to "Attributes".  This is very terse and will likely feel foreign to most newcomers to R, but precisely because it is short and compact (and very informative) it is worth coming back to frequently.  We will go over the topics in more detail.

### `r  course_day("Th", 2)`
_git Overview.  Configuring git_

* __Reading:__ Read sections 1.1 through 1.3 in the [Pro Git Book](http://git-scm.com/book) which is online and free.


## Week 3 {#syl-week-3}

### `r  course_day("Tu", 3)`
_Lists: aka "recursive vectors"_

### `r  course_day("Th", 3)`
_git: Branching and Remotes_



## Week 4 {#syl-week-4}

### `r  course_day("Tu", 4)`
_Data Frames. Reading in data, etc_

### `r  course_day("Th", 4)`
_An overview of GitHub_


## Week 5 {#syl-week-5}

### `r  course_day("Tu", 5)`
_More data frames. Factors.  Tidy Data_

### `r  course_day("Th", 5)`
_Forking and pull requests_


## Week 6 {#syl-week-6}

### `r  course_day("Tu", 6)`
_NO CLASS. VETERANS DAY_


### `r  course_day("Th", 6)`
_Plotting. ggplot and the grammar of graphics_


## Week 7 {#syl-week-7}

### `r  course_day("Tu", 7)`
_Plotting with ggplot_

### `r  course_day("Th", 7)`



## Week 8 {#syl-week-8}

### `r  course_day("Tu", 8)`
_NO CLASS. THANKSGIVING WEEK_

### `r  course_day("Th", 8)`
_NO CLASS. THANKSGIVING WEEK_


## Week 9 {#syl-week-9}

### `r  course_day("Tu", 9)`
_A more formal look at functions. Let's create our own package_

### `r  course_day("Th", 9)`



## Week 10 {#syl-week-10}

### `r  course_day("Tu", 10)`
_apply-like functions. the plyr package_

### `r  course_day("Th", 10)`




## Week 11 {#syl-week-10}

### `r  course_day("Tu", 10)`

### `r  course_day("Th", 10)`