R is a programming language and software environment designed for statistical analysis, generating graphical representations, and producing reports. It was originally developed by Ross Ihaka and Robert Gentleman at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and is currently maintained by the R Development Core Team.

At its core, R is an interpreted programming language that supports branching, looping, and modular programming through functions. It offers seamless integration with procedures written in languages such as C, C++, .Net, Python, or FORTRAN to enhance computational efficiency.

R is made freely available under the GNU General Public License, and pre-compiled binary versions are accessible for a variety of operating systems, including Linux.