Our Tool Set

This shop primarily uses R and SAS in order to conduct Extract-Transform-Load functions, do data manipulation, visualization, and analysis. Additionally, we use Power BI for more advanced dashboarding features.

R

R is available online for download and the instructions for installing R and the recommended integrated development environment will be discussed

You will need to have an active copy of the following on your machines:

• Installation of R (https://cran.r-project.org/)
• Installation of RStudio Desktop (https://www.rstudio.com/products/rstudio/download/)
• Installation of Rtools (https://cran.r-project.org/)
• Installation of git for windows (https://www.atlassian.com/git/tutorials/install-git#windows)

SAS

SAS will need to be installed on your machine by someone in IS/IT

Power BI

Power BI can be installed directly from online. The instructions to do so are located at https://is.wfu.edu/services/power-bi/

PuTTy

PuTTy is used to communicate with databases and access the DEAC Cluster. You can download that here if it is not already on your machine.

Notepad++

It is useful to have a nicer text editor than WordPad. I recommend using Notepad++ if you are using a windows machine. It is available here.

Adobe Cloud

It is worth getting Adobe Cloud and downloading Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Illustrator for pdf and graph manipulation. Those are available from Wake Forest IS here https://software.wfu.edu/how-to-install/

Others

You may find that you need additional software. I think that the above mentioned will cover 90% of your needs. Additionally, I have installed python and Julia, though I rarely use either. We do not have a standard database administration tool, so that is a potential opportunity.