Preface

Given the growing popularity of the R-zero-cost statistical programming environment, there has never been a better time to start applying machine learning (ML) to your data. This book will teach you advanced techniques in ML, using the latest code in R 3.5. You will delve into various complex features of supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and reinforcement learning algorithms to design efficient and powerful ML models.

This newly updated edition is packed with fresh examples covering a range of tasks from different domains. Mastering Machine Learning with R starts by showing you how to quickly manipulate data and prepare it for analysis. You will explore simple and complex models and understand how to compare them. You’ll also learn to use the latest library support, such as TensorFlow and Keras-R, for performing advanced computations. Additionally, you'll explore complex topics such as natural language processing (NLP), time series analysis, and clustering, which will further refine your skills in developing applications. Each chapter will help you implement advanced ML algorithms using real-world examples. You'll even be introduced to reinforcement learning, along with its various use cases and models. In the concluding chapters, you'll get a glimpse into how some of these black box models can be diagnosed and understood.

By the end of this book, you'll be equipped with the skills to deploy ML techniques in your own projects or at work.