On February 29, R 3.6.3 was released and is now available for Windows, Linux and Mac systems. This update, codenamed "Holding the Windsock", fixes a few minor bugs, and as a minor update maintains compatibility with scripts and packages written for prior versions of R 3.6.
February 29 is an auspicious date, because that was the day that R 1.0.0 was released to the world: February 29, 2000. In the video below from the CelebRation2020 conference marking the 20th anniversary of R, core member Peter Dalgaard reflects on the origins of R, and releases R 3.6.3 live on stage (at the 33-minute mark).
R has advanced tremendously in the last 20 years, and the R language and the community around it shows no signs of slowing down, as demonstrated by this chart of R package downloads (from Jozef Hajnala's excellent retrospective on R).
R 3.6.3 is likely to be the last update in the R 3.6 series, before R 4.0.0 is released on April 24 with many exciting new features. For more on R 3.6.3, including all the changes in this release, check out the official announcement on the link below.
R-announce mailing list: R 3.6.3 is released
Thanks David! Here's a toast to you and to the entire R community. (insert gif of wine glass).
Best wishes to all for the next 20 years!
Madeline
Posted by: Madeline | March 10, 2020 at 11:50