getHdata {Hmisc} | R Documentation

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

### Description

This function downloads and makes ready to use datasets from the main web site for the Hmisc and Design 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 to reduce multiple inheritance problems for SV4 (S-Plus 5 or later). 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/twiki/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

### Details

For S-Plus, Hmisc defines a function `download.file` that is used by `getHdata`. This is a stripped-down version of the R `download.file` function that uses the system `wget` executable for fetching files from the Internet. For Unix and Linux systems, `wget` will be pre-installed usually. For windows S-Plus systems, get `wget` from ftp://sunsite.dk/projects/wget/windows. Once you unzip the file from there, move `wget.exe` to the same Windows directory that contains `ftp.exe`.

### 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)

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