Which programming language is commonly used for data mining and statistical analysis?

• A. Java
• B. R
• C. Python
• D. Ruby

Answer: (B)

Data mining and statistical analysis are most effectively done in a language built around statistics and graphics. R provides a rich ecosystem of packages for data manipulation, modeling, machine learning, and visualization, plus an environment designed for interactive statistical work. Its formula-based modeling syntax and strong community support make performing tasks like regression, clustering, time-series analysis, and hypothesis testing straightforward and reproducible. While Java is a general-purpose language and Python is widely used in data science, R is specifically optimized for statistical computing and has long been the go-to choice for in-depth statistical analysis and data mining. Ruby has little specialized tooling for statistics, making it far less common in this area.