It sometimes could be a great idea to incorporate bits of C++ into our R coding through the Rcpp package. Before writing or calling our C++ functions, we need firstly a working C++ setup for R, which is not difficult on Mac OS system. First, we need a C++ compiler. We can download XCode and install the Command Line Tools. Second, we need to create a file $\sim$/.R/Makevars , to tell R which compliers to use. The file creation can be done by typing the following commands in Terminal, cd ~/.R nano Makevars Now add the following text: CC = clang CXX = clang++ And follow the directions at the bottom of the screen to "write out" and close the file (Control-O Enter and Control-X). Next, we need to install Rcpp package in R from source so that it is built with the same C++ complier we are using. install.packages("Rcpp", type = "source") After finishing the setup of connection between C++ and R, we can write a C++ function that R c...