Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R FAQ

What is Spotfire^® Enterprise Runtime for R (TERR)?

Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R is an enterprise-grade analytic engine that we built from the ground up to be fully compatible with the R language and embedded in Spotfire®. This allows customers to deploy their R code on a commercially-supported and robust platform. 

• Embedded in the Spotfire® platform to enhance Data Discovery and Analytic Applications, both via predictive tools and direct R scripting

• Integrated with TIBCO Fast Data products (including Spotfire^® Streaming and TIBCO BusinessEvents^®) to perform real-time predictive model scoring

Why was TIBCO^® Enterprise Runtime for R (TERR) renamed?

As of version 14, Spotfire® became a stand-alone brand within the Cloud Software Group, and this change is reflected in a new logotype and new product name. TERR is a product under the Spotfire® brand, so as of version 6.1.0, it was also renamed and rebranded as Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R. However, it is still identified with the trademarked acronym "TERR".

What are the advantages of Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R vs. Open Source R?

In brief, the main advantages of Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R are as follows.

• Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R is not Open Source/GPL, which means we can license it to customers and partners for embedding in their applications
• All with the goal of delivering analytic power AND agility, so that our customers can develop in open source R, and deploy/scale/integrate using Enterprise Runtime for R, without having to recode their analytics
• Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R is commercially supported.

What does R compatible mean? Can I run any R code? Are there any limitations?

• We are 100% R compatible (in terms of full support for the R language), but we don't have full R coverage (in terms of support for all the core R functions and APIs). We focused on implementing the most commonly-used functions and statistical methods that are also available in core R, and support for the most commonly used R packages (so thousands of R packages from the CRAN repository can be run in Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R without any modification). See the documentation site for a link to an Analysis with a compatibility analysis.

• Some specific things Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R does not include:

  • Support for R-based graphics (since our first release focused on Spotfire^® integration, we use Spotfire^® for visualization)

  • Support for some of the less-commonly-used statistical and utility functions in core R.

Where can I get more information on Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R? How can I get Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R?

• Full documentation for Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R, including details on specific versions, can be found on the Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R section of the Spotfire® Documentation Site.

• The Spotfire® Support Site provides a variety of Knowledge Base articles on Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R

• If you are a user of Spotfire® Desktop or Spotfire® Analyst, the Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R engine is embedded and can be used directly.

• If you are a Spotfire® user, you can learn more about how to use Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R to enhance your visualizations and analyses:

  • Free Quick Reference Topics

    • Data Functions: pass multiple inputs and outputs to Spotfire Enterprise Runtime for R. The most flexible way to call R scripts in Spotfire.

    • Expression Functions: Call Spotfire Enterprise Runtime for R directly from the Spotfire Expression Language. The simplest way to enhance your analysis with R scripts. 

  • Full, in-depth training course available online: Spotfire^® Analyst Extended with R / Spotfire Enterprise Runtime for R.

How can I request specific R compatibility features/packages?

• Current Spotfire® Customers can use the Spotfire® Ideas portal to request an enhancement for Spotfire®. Choose the Spotfire Workspace and the Category Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R.

Why did you name it Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R?

• "Enterprise" refers to the main focus of Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R: bring the analytic power and flexibility of R to large organizations in a way that meets their expectations for performance, robustness, support, etc.

• "Runtime for R" means that this product is compatible with the R language, and provides a unique platform on which to run R language scripts. Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R users can take the scripts that they have developed on OS R, and deploy and integrate them using the Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R environment.

What legal process did you follow to create Spotfire^® Enterprise Runtime for R?

We developed TERR from the ground up. The Cloud Software Group and its licensors fully own all intellectual property rights in this product, drawing on our long history and expertise with S+. To ensure that our new product would be an original work, we followed a rigorously independent development process, including a "clean room" methodology, in which one dedicated off-site group created a specification for R, and a separate engineering team wrote code to match that specification without making use of the R source code. Rigorous and ongoing testing has been performed to ensure the output of Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R matches the expected output for open source R.

What versions of Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R are available?

Check out which version of Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R is available for your environment.

What's New in Spotfire® Enterprise Runtime for R

Check out what's new in recent Spotfire Enterprise Runtime for R releases.

How do I set JAVA_HOME variable?

To enable some TERR packages that require JAVA, you need to set the JAVA_HOME Windows variable. In Windows, this is done as such.