Explore the basics of the R language, such as variables, operators, loops, and functions, and solve a few challenges.

Become an R Developer

This module will get us up to speed on R programming and assumes no prior knowledge of the language. We’ll start with the basics of R, such as variables, data types, operators, etc., and work our way up to advanced concepts like functions, classes, and exception handling. We’ll also go through some challenges to enhance our hands-on experience. By the time we’re done, we’ll be able to write detailed, useful code in R.

Learn R from Scratch

# The Classic `Hello World` Program
The first program we are going to write is the classic **Hello World** program. 

The purpose of this program is to display the text “Hello World!” to the user. Let's begin.

# Simply use the print() keyword
# Write anyting between quotation marks to print on console.
print("Hello World")

> A name/text followed by brackets `()` is called a `function`. We will be learning functions in a later chapter. But for now, just remember that functions are used to perform a task. For example, this `print()` function is performing a task, i.e., **printing**.

## Comments in R
You might also notice other peculiar lines in the above code **(Line number 1 and 2)**. These lines are `comments` and they begin with the character `#`. For example:
```r
# This is a comment
```
Comments are not executed by the compiler. They are ignored while executing a program. However, it is important to give comments so that the code becomes readable. Also, it helps other programmers to know exactly what is going on in the code.

The code below contains only comments:

The first step to learning any language is the classic "Hello World" program.

Hello World

The Classic Hello World Program

The Classic `Hello World` Program