There are two major purposes for this function. One is to
provide a consistent interface to reading data: a file
name is given and a data frame is returned, which can be
assigned to an object as the user desires. This differs
from the behavior of data, which doesn't return a
value but instead creates an object without explicit
assignment. The other purpose is to allow instructors or other group
leaders to post data and R code on web sites that can be
searched as naturally as if the data were on the users'
own machines. For instance, an instructor might want to
post a new data set just before class, enabling her
students to access it in class.
To support this, fetchData allows new web sites to
be added to the web search path. Typically, the command
to add a site would be in a script file that is provided
to the student that could be run automatically at start
up or sourced over the web. That is, an
instructor might create a script file stored on a website
and, using a web page, provide students with the text of
the command to source it.
Currently, https addresses are changed to http