Marck Vaisman - R and Python - A Love Story

R and Python - A Love Story by Marck Vaisman

Abstract: In my life as a data professional, I started with and mastered R (I even ran R on Hadoop back in 2010-2012 timeframe). Over time, especially at work, I have been using Python more and more and really trying to understand its mental model and best programming practices. There are many things that drive me bananas. This talk is NOT about making an argument for which one is better, or trash talking about either (well, maybe a little for fun's sake). It's about the gripes I've had when trying to do tasks in Python that are, in my opinion, much easier to do in R, and how to effectively love both and use them together.

Bio: Marck is a Technical Solutions Professional at Microsoft and helps customers adopt the Azure platform and use it for Data Science, Advanced Analytics and Artificial Intelligence workloads. Marck designs data-driven computing solutions to help clients make better business decisions, recognize opportunities, experiment, gain insights, and solve difficult problems using large datasets and a combination of tools. His expertise lies in making data work for the problem at hand, drawing from experience in multiple industries including Internet, telecommunications, and high tech. Marck is an experienced R programmer and advocate. He founded Data Community DC, an organization that promotes Data Science and Analytics practitioners in the Washington DC Metro area. He teaches Big Data graduate level courses at Georgetown University and the George Washington University. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Boston University and an MBA from Vanderbilt University.

Presented at the 2024 Government & Public Sector R Conference (October 29, 2024)