Over the past several years the Rcpp package has become an indispensable tool for creating high-performance R code. Its power and ease of use have made C++ a natural second language for many R users. There are over 400 packages on CRAN and Bioconductor that depend on Rcpp and it is now the most downloaded R package.

In RStudio v0.99 we have added extensive additional tools to make working with Rcpp more pleasant, productive, and robust, these include:

  • Code completion

  • Source diagnostics as you edit

  • Code snippets

  • Auto-indentation

  • Navigable list of compilation errors

  • Code navigation (go to definition)

We think these features will go a long way to helping even more R users succeed with Rcpp. You can try the new features out now by downloading the RStudio Preview Release .

Code Completion#

RStudio v0.99 includes comprehensive code completion for C++ based on Clang (the same underlying engine used by XCode and many other C/C++ tools):

Screen Shot 2015-04-07 at 12.13.31 PM

Completions are provided for the C++ language, Rcpp, and any other libraries you have imported.

Diagnostics#

As you edit C++ source files RStudio uses Clang to scan your code looking for errors, incomplete code, or other conditions worthy of warnings or informational notes. For example:

Screen Shot 2015-04-07 at 12.16.38 PM

Diagnostics alert you to the possibility of subtle problems and flag outright incorrect code as early as possible, substantially reducing iteration/debugging time.

Interactive C++#

Rcpp includes some nifty tools to help make working with C++ code just as simple and straightforward as working with R code. You can “source” C++ code into R just like you’d source an R script (no need to deal with Makefiles or build systems). Here’s a Gibbs Sampler implemented with Rcpp:

Screen Shot 2015-04-13 at 4.40.36 PM

We can make this function available to R by simply sourcing the C++ file (much like we’d source an R script):

1
2

sourceCpp("gibbs.cpp")
gibbs(100, 10)

Thanks to the abstractions provided by Rcpp, the code implementing the Gibbs Sampler in C++ is nearly identical to the code you’d write in R, but runs 20 times faster . RStudio includes full support for Rcpp’s sourceCpp via the Source button and Ctrl+Shift+Enter keyboard shortcut.

Try it Out#

If you are new to C++ or Rcpp you might be surprised at how easy it is to get started. There are lots of great resources available, including:

You can give the new Rcpp features a try now by downloading the RStudio Preview Release . If you run into problems or have feedback on how we could make things better let us know on our Support Forum .