NetWorkSpaces for R
---------------------

  NetWorkSpaces (NWS) is a powerful, easy-to-use software package that makes it easy 
  to write distributed programs using scripting language such as R. 


  Requirements
  -------------
  R 2.1.1 or later (http://www.r-project.org)
  Twisted Framework (http://www.twistedmatrix.com)
  Python 2.2 or later (http://www.python.org)

  Note: Twisted Framework and Python are only needed for running NetWorkSpaces server. 
  NetWorkSpaces clients do not need to install both software.

  
  NetWorkSpaces Server
  --------------------- 
  To use NetWorkspaces client, you'll need to install and run a NetWorkSpaces server
  on a machine that you can connect to. The NetWorkspaces server is an open-source software 
  implemented in Python using the Twisted framework. It is packaged separately from the 
  NetWorkSpaces client software. To download a copy of the NetWorkSpaces server, please
  visit 'NetWorkSpaces for R' project website at sourceforge, http://nws-r.sourceforge.net

  The server only needs to be installed on one machine, while multiple copies of client 
  software may be installed on more than one machine on the network. 


  NetWorkSpaces for R
  ---------------------
  To install 'NetWorkSpaces for R', please follow the standard R package installation. 
  1) untar the tar file
  2) R CMD INSTALL nws

  Once you've got a NetWorkSpaces server up and running, you're ready to use NetWorkSpaces. 
  You can do a simple test to make sure everything is installed properly by typing the 
  following:

  % R
  > library(nws)   # load nws library
  > ws = new('netWorkSpace', 'R space')
  > nwsStore(ws, 'x', 1)
  > nwsFetch(ws, 'x')

  The above five lines create a workspace called 'R space', store
  variable x with value 1 to the created workspace, and fetch variable x's value from 
  the workspace.

  If you've encountered error messages in the above five lines, it's likely that nws is
  installed in a different directory than standard R library location. 
  To get around this problem, you can set R_LIBS enviroment variable to point to where 
  nws package is installed. 

  You can also view what's in the workspace using a web interface.
  To do this, you point your browser to http://server_host_name:8766, where 
  server_host_name is the machine where NetWorkSpaces server resides on.   

  In order to examine values that you've created in a workspace using the server's web 
  interface, you'll need a babelfish. The babelfish translates values into a human 
  readable format so they can be displayed in a web browser. If a value is a string, then 
  the web interface simply displays the contents of the string, without any help from the 
  babelfish. But, if the the value is any other type of R object, it needs help from 
  the R babelfish, which is located in the nws/bin directory. 
  To start up babelfish, execute the following command in the command
  prompt:

    % R CMD BATCH babelfish.R

  Note: this function will not return until you hit Ctrl-C out of the R session. 

  More examples on using NetWorkSpaces are also available in the examples and demo 
  directory within the installed 'NetWorkSpaces for R' package. 

  For further help, please visit us at http://nws-r.sourceforge.net, 
  or send us an email at nws@LindaSpaces.com
