R: Download and Install Datasets for 'Hmisc', 'rms', and...

getHdata {Hmisc} | R Documentation

## Download and Install Datasets for Hmisc, rms, and Statistical Modeling

### Description

This function downloads and makes ready to use datasets from the main web site for the Hmisc and rms libraries. For R, the datasets were stored in compressed `save` format and `getHdata` makes them available by running `load` after download. For S-Plus, the datasets were stored in `data.dump` format and are made available by running `data.restore` after import. The dataset is run through the `cleanup.import` function. Calling `getHdata` with no `file` argument provides a character vector of names of available datasets that are currently on the web site. For R, R's default browser can optionally be launched to view `html` files that were already prepared using the Hmisc command `html(contents())` or to view ‘.txt’ or ‘.html’ data description files when available.

### Usage

    getHdata(file, what = c("data", "contents", "description", "all"),
             where="http://biostat.mc.vanderbilt.edu/wiki/pub/Main/DataSets")

### Arguments

`file` | an unquoted name of a dataset on the web site, e.g. prostate. Omit `file` to obtain a list of available datasets.
`what` | specify `what="contents"` to browse the contents (metadata) for the dataset rather than fetching the data themselves. Specify `what="description"` to browse a data description file if available. Specify `what="all"` to retrieve the data and see the metadata and description.
`where` | URL containing the data and metadata files

### Value

`getHdata()` without a `file` argument returns a character vector of dataset base names. When a dataset is downloaded, the data frame is placed in search position one and is not returned as value of `getHdata`.

### Author(s)

Frank Harrell

### See Also

`download.file`, `cleanup.import`, `data.restore`, `load`

### Examples

    ## Not run:
    getHdata()          # download list of available datasets
    getHdata(prostate)  # downloads, load( ) or data.restore( )
                        # runs cleanup.import for S-Plus 6
    getHdata(valung, "contents")   # open browser (options(browser="whatever"))
                        # after downloading valung.html
                        # (result of html(contents()))
    getHdata(support, "all")  # download and open one browser window
    datadensity(support)
    attach(support)     # make individual variables available
    getHdata(plasma,  "all")  # download and open two browser windows
                              # (description file is available for plasma)

    ## End(Not run)

[Package Hmisc version 4.3-0 Index]