Here is a thorough and authoritative guide to the latest version of the
S language and its programming environment. Programming With Data
describes a new and greatly extended version of S, written by the chief
designer of the language itself. It is a guide to the complete
programming process, starting from simple, interactive use, and
continuing through ambitious software projects. The focus is on the
needs of the programmer/user, with the aim of turning ideas into
software, quickly and faithfully. The new version of S provides a
powerful class/method structure, new techniques to deal with large
objects, extended interfaces to other languages and files, object-based
documentation compatible with HTML, and powerful new interactive
programming techniques. This version of S underlies the S-Plus system,
versions 5.0 and higher.