9.1 Introduction

Its possible to download data directly from the internet, including

• Spreadsheets directly posted online as .csv or .txt
• Spreadsheets contained within a GitHub repository, including a package
• Google Sheets
• and many other formats

In this short exercise we’ll download some data that is stored as a raw .csv file within the inner workings of the widlifeR package.

9.1.1 Learning Goals & Outcomes

By the end of this lesson students should be able to download basic data sources from the internet using getURL() from the RCUrl package.

9.1.2 Functions & Arguements

• RCurl::getURL()
• scatter.smooth

9.1.3 Packages

• RCurl install.packages()

9.1.4 Potential hangups

• Bad internet connection
• Firewall problems