Computing with Data: Concepts and Challenges

This paper examines work in "computing with data", that is, in computing support for scientific and other activities to which statisticians can contribute. Relevant computing techniques, besides traditional statistical computing, include data management, visualization, interactive languages and user-interface design. The paper emphasizes the concepts underlying computing with data, with emphasis on how those concepts can work in practice. We look at past, present, and future: some concepts as they arose in the past and as they have proved valuable in current software; applications in the present, with one example in particular, to illustrate the challenges these present; and new directions for future research, including one exciting joint project.