R versus Python for bioinformatics
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- čas přidán 22. 08. 2024
- Which programming language should you learn if you want to start doing bioinformatics? I do a basic comparison between R and python in this video.
Both the R programming language and Python are very valuable tools for bioinformatics and data analysis but there are key differences between the two.
Note: Having at least a basic understanding of how to use Linux BASH and pathing is also very important, but I don't cover that here.
I think R has more sophisticated statistics packages. Actually R should be seen as a language for statistical programming, while python is more of a general data science and developing language
This was maybe true ~4 years ago. Now SCIPY, etc make Python just as good or better at statistics. R is still probably taught more in your typical statistics or biostatistics class because it is hard to break a cycle. There also may be niche modules/packages that are currently written only in R, but I expect this to continue to change in coming years.
No, this is not true. I’m familiar with both.
great content, languages just different, don't have to be good or bad.
Exactly!
I love your videos. It is so helpful. Thank you so much for sharing these great videos.
Thanks for watching!
graphics made with ggplot, +1 to R
ggplot is nice and it is easy to make nice graphics quickly, but not quite as customizable as matplotlib in my experience.
@@sanbomics good point in your experience, even wall Street journal does some of its plot with ggplot
This was a really interesting take on the 2 different languages and I liked that you included some actual data to support your reasoning. Just one question though, isn't it then also true that because not many people are using R or learning R anymore, this in itself makes someone that can use R proficiently stand out from the rest? Just asking out of interest, although I have heard from others that now work in industry as senior bioinformaticians that they pretty much just use python for everything and have precompiled python code they use for most tasks.
That's an interesting point. Knowing R is definitely a skill that many companies and labs look for. R is very niche, and if you are applying for a niche position that uses R it could be very beneficial. For me, I joined a lab where everyone predominantly uses R, but I use python 90% of the time. But, I am slowly converting them haha.
R is still a good thing to know; however, I think that python is more future proof.
Great video! It helped me a lot.
Glad it helped! It is a difficult but important question.
I truly prefer python for me it is easy, Even to understand others people code
Me too. But I try not to force other people because I am very biased xD
great content
Thanks! :)
Which is better Linux or Windows? Are you a cat person or a dog person? Do you vote republican or democrat? These things do not make sense...
Depends for what,..for bioinformatics/data analysis, Linux is always better. For video games I would pick Windows. Cats and dogs are equal in my mind, but I currently only have a cat. I won't comment on politics. What doesn't make sense?
Ah...you did not get it, the comment was not meant to be a slight on your video. I apologize if I gave the wrong impression. My opinion is that it is always more profitable to be language-agostic. I was a Python user. Now, most of the time (>90%) I use R (it has many more resources for what I need). If someone asks me which is better I simply say that it depends on what you need it for. And popularity does not necessarily indicate what is better or worse. People follow trends. People like to belong to groups.
It's fine, I wasn't sure so I left my answer somewhat ambiguous haha. I agree to a lot of these points. Thats why my main conclusion is that it is better to know both. The answer will always boil down to: use what is best for whatever you are trying to accomplish. However, people don't always know what is best for them, and that is what I was trying to help with this video. Belonging to groups is another thing that I 100% agree with, but the comments here are probably not the best place to talk about it. I am very interested in the phenomenon of tribalism, etc. Cheers.