HighlandR

Mainly R, but expect some SQL, BI and Excel

2022

Iterating over multiple database tables with the tidyverse

Extracting data from multiple database tables with dplyr and purrr. Continue reading Iterating over multiple database tables with the tidyverse

Dynamic SQL queries with R

Programmatic querying with dynamic schema, table and column names. Continue reading Dynamic SQL queries with R

Dual axis charts in ggplot2 - how to make them and why they can be useful

Working with dual axis charts in ggplot2, with custom legends using manual scales and ggtext. Pareto charts, in particular, are a valid use of this technique. Continue reading Dual axis charts in ggplot2 - how to make them and why they can be useful

Getting to know Julia

Trying out some basic data operations (download, minimal wrangling and plotting) in Julia Continue reading Getting to know Julia

Separate SQL

Why you should consider keeping your SQL queries in a separate file. Continue reading Separate SQL

Inverness street maps

Ticking off the rstats bucket list - emulating Taras Kaduk’s street map - but in a Highland stylee with OSM, sf and ggdark Continue reading Inverness street maps

What song lyric sentiment analysis doesn't tell you

Trying out the rolldown package to display the results of comparing lyric sentiments to the reactions the music generates. TL/DR - Metallica baby!! Continue reading What song lyric sentiment analysis doesn't tell you

UK Energy company acquisitions - a great use case for Sankey plots

Sankey plots are the ideal chart type to plot the flow of customers from collapsing energy companies. Here’s how to prepare your data with dplyr, before plotting with networkD3 Continue reading UK Energy company acquisitions - a great use case for Sankey plots

Enjoying the process of making tables in R using {reactable} and {reactablefmtr}

I thought making tables in R was dull, but it’s fun and engaging when you use reactable, and reactablefmtr. Interactivity, colour and visuals are all much improved. Continue reading Enjoying the process of making tables in R using {reactable} and {reactablefmtr}

2021

I got my first package onto CRAN, and YOU CAN TOO

If I can do it, so can you. Feel the fear, do the checks, go for it. Here are some tips and links to help you get your package onto CRAN. Continue reading I got my first package onto CRAN, and YOU CAN TOO

Shooting Stars

Why you should consider starring repos on GitHub. Continue reading Shooting Stars

cusumcharter available on CRAN

Introducing the cusumcharter package which makes it easier to create and plot CUSUM control charts. Continue reading cusumcharter available on CRAN

Scheduling Rmarkdown files on Windows - your foolproof guide

Scheduling an Rmarkdown script can be tricky - there are a few issues that are not always obvious. Here’s how to run yours successfully Continue reading Scheduling Rmarkdown files on Windows - your foolproof guide

Passing parameters to SQL Server functions using R

How to parameterise an input into the SQL Server DATEADD function, via R. Useful when you want to pass an integer somewhere deep inside your SQL query Continue reading Passing parameters to SQL Server functions using R

fwf without the faff

Fixed width files aren’t too common, but they don’t have to be scary. readr comes to the rescue with read_fwf() Continue reading fwf without the faff

Calculating hotel occupancy with R

Putting patientcounter to the test by calculating hotel occupancy. Continue reading Calculating hotel occupancy with R

Well Well Well my Excel

I’m fed up forgetting how to combine lots of excel workbooks into one dataframe, so I’m documenting several ways of doing it, using purrr, data.table, rio and base R. Continue reading Well Well Well my Excel

Cutting down code in dplyr and data.table

Do we have to sacrifice readability for brevity? data.table allows succinct code, but so does tidyverse. data.table has some extra tricks up it’s sleeve though. Continue reading Cutting down code in dplyr and data.table

Introducing popthemes

Introducing another set of palettes and scales for ggplot2, based on pop album covers. Continue reading Introducing popthemes

Some data.table tips

Rolling joins, wrapping functions around regular DT[] calls, and more. Continue reading Some data.table tips

Scheduled Refresh - a surprisingly simple fix

Scheduled Refresh wasn’t working on our server, despite the correct credentials being supplied with the correct account and privileges. The fix was simple, but not particularly obvious. Continue reading Scheduled Refresh - a surprisingly simple fix

PreppinData - accepting the challenge with R and PowerBI

I’ve completed a month of ‘PreppinData’ challenges, using both R and PowerBI. Some things have been easy, some have not - here’s what I’ve learned in Week 1 Continue reading PreppinData - accepting the challenge with R and PowerBI

2020

demystifying the coalesce function

coalesce is a one of those functions that might not strike you as being very useful, mainly because it doesn’t sound very exciting. But it IS useful, and might save you some time and complexity Continue reading demystifying the coalesce function

collapse might rock your world

collapse is a new force in the data transformation stakes. In this post, I try out one simple function and compare it to data.table and dplyr Continue reading collapse might rock your world

NHS-R Community Conference 2020

The 3rd Annual NHS-R Community Conference went virtual, and was an amazing success. Although I missed plenty, I saw more than enough good stuff to know that this is my team. And, everything’s online for catch up. Yay! Continue reading NHS-R Community Conference 2020

When dataviz meets 'reality'

The UK Government Coronavirus briefing on Saturday caused all sorts of consternation. Not least, the graphics that were presented in support of further lockdown. What happened, how bad was it really, and what could be improved? Continue reading When dataviz meets 'reality'

Getting started with network plots

Network plots can be hit or miss. For those of us used to tables or dataframes, the terminology is confusing. They often don’t look good. However, the visNetwork package changes all that as it greatly simplifies the process of producing useful, interactive network plots. Continue reading Getting started with network plots

2019

2018

2017

2016