R packages and CRAN

As a GNU project, extensions to the base R language and environment, typically referred to as packages, are freely available.

Packages exist to expand the usage for many different types of projects and functionality, with more packages being developed all the time. Certain packages are supplied with the R distribution. Many more packages are available through the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN) family of Internet sites covering a wide range of modern statistics. CRAN is a network of File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Web servers around the globe that store identical, up-to-date versions of code and documentation for R.

In this document, references to CRAN- style packages indicate that the packages were developed by using the methodology and standards of the CRAN project. However, because these packages are specific to Netezza Performance Server Analytics, they are not officially submitted to CRAN, but published on GitHub instead.