About Stat 451
2026-01-13
Stat 451/Stat 892 - Development of Statistical Software
Advanced statistical software development. Packaging code into functions, intelligent software design, compiled languages to speed up code, development and release cycles.
This course is fulfilling the requirement of ACE 10 scholarly product. The final project will be a statistical software package that fills a need in the ecosystem.
Pre-reqs: Stat 302, Stat 351
Objectives
At the end of the course you should be able to …
- Packaging code into functions
- Evaluate functions’ performance with regard to their accuracy, maintainability, and speed
- Have working knowledge of the R package structure and the development cycle
- Document and publish your work on your online portfolio
Course Setup
4-5 modules aimed to cover first half of the semester
focus on project work for second half
Modules
- Setup of work environment
- Function writing (Review, Objective 1, 2)
- Profiling code (Objective 2)
- Package structure (Objective 3)
- Package Documentation (Objective 3)
- Computational Tools (Objective 4)
Assessments
- 50%: weekly homework assignments
- 25%: midterm
- 25%: final project
Homework
One every week
2-3 hours
Revise what we covered, plus synthesize some new information
Start early: if I have time, I will give feedback on your Github classroom commits
One re-submission after the due-date (within 2 weeks)
Midterm
- In-class
- Homework-like problem
- Open book, open notes
- Take-home exam, tentatively aimed for the week before Spring Break
Project (ACE 10)
Individual or team based
Create an R package
Document the R package in a vignette
Publish the R package
Lectures
Come to class prepared
Be ready to work: bring your computer
Talk to each other!
Slides are posted at https://stat451-at-unl.github.io/Stat451.github.io/
I’m aiming for 3:1 ratio of Lecture:‘Your Turn’
Syllabus
Questions?
