R

R is a free software environment that provides tools for statistical analysis and the creation of graphics. It runs on many Unix‑like systems, as well as Windows and macOS, and can be obtained from any CRAN mirror. The platform includes a command‑line interface and a collection of packages that support data manipulation, modeling, and visualisation.

The software is aimed at statisticians, data analysts, researchers, and anyone who needs to explore, model, and present data. Its extensible package system allows users to add specialized methods for fields such as bioinformatics, econometrics, and machine learning, while the graphics capabilities enable the production of publication‑quality plots.

R is maintained by the R Foundation and is released under an open‑source licence. New versions are released regularly, with the latest stable release being 4.6.0 as of April 2026. Community support is provided through mailing lists, documentation, and an active developer network.