Apache Arrow for R Cheatsheet

Published 27 Apr 2022
By Stephanie Hazlitt (stephhazlitt)

We are excited to introduce the new Apache Arrow for R Cheatsheet.

Helping (Not Cheating)

While cheatsheets may have started as a set of notes used without an instructor’s knowledge—so, ummm, cheating—using the Arrow for R cheatsheet is definitely not cheating! Today, cheatsheets are a common tool to provide users an introduction to software’s functionality and a quick reference guide to help users get started.

The Arrow for R cheatsheet is intended to be an easy-to-scan introduction to the Arrow R package and Arrow data structures, with getting started sections on some of the package’s main functionality. The cheatsheet includes introductory snippets on using Arrow to read and work with larger-than-memory multi-file data sets, sending and receiving data with Flight, reading data from cloud storage without downloading the data first, and more. The Arrow for R cheatsheet also directs users to the full Arrow for R package documentation and articles and the Arrow Cookbook, both full of code examples and recipes to support users build their Arrow-based data workflows. Finally, the cheatsheet debuts one of the first uses of the hot-off-the-presses Arrow hex sticker, recently made available as part of the Apache Arrow visual identity guidance.

Cheatsheet Maintenance

See something that needs updating? Or want to suggest a change? Like software itself, a package cheatsheet needs maintenance to keep pace with new features or user-facing changes. Contributions can be made by downloading and making changes to the arrow-cheatsheet.pptx file (in Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides), and offering the revised .pptx and rendered PDF back to the project following the new New Contributors Guide. Since a cheatsheet contribution does not touch the Arrow codebase, cheatsheet contributors don’t need to build the package or worry about running (or writing!) code tests. The New Contributors Guide will walk you through how to get set up with git, fork the Arrow GitHub repository, make a branch, replace the .pptx and .pdf files with your editions, and contribute the changes with a Pull Request. Questions and support are always available through the community mailing list.

By the Community For the Community

The Arrow for R cheatsheet was initiated by Mauricio (Pachá) Vargas Sepúlveda (ARROW-13616) and was co-developed and reviewed by many Apache Arrow community members. The cheatsheet was created by the community for the community, and anyone in the Arrow community is welcome and encouraged to help with maintenance and offer improvements. Thank you for your support!