Frequently Asked Questions in Posit Workbench
What is the difference between Posit Workbench and RStudio Workbench?
The only difference to the Workbench professional product is that we have renamed RStudio Workbench to Posit Workbench to reflect our new company name. You can read about our decision to change our company’s name from RStudio to Posit here.
What is the difference between Posit Workbench and RStudio Server?
Posit Workbench has several features that differentiate it from the open-source RStudio Server, which you can read about here. The main advantages of using Posit Workbench are:
- enhanced security and authentication
- support for multiple sessions
- support for multiple versions of R and Python
- support for multiple IDEs
- the ability to fine-tune the performance of the user experience
- the ability to monitor the performance of sessions/users
- a commercial license to remove the restrictions of the AGPL license
Which programming languages does Posit Workbench support?
Posit Workbench has been designed to support multiple languages, including both R and Python. You can easily switch between these languages and use your editor of choice for different projects without adding additional work for your IT team.
Can Workbench sessions integrate with version control, such as Git?
Absolutely! Posit Workbench can be used to work with projects that are version controlled in external systems. For more information, see the version control section under the editor of your choice.
Version control is most useful when used with a remote repository. Remote repositories can be hosted on a variety of hosting platforms (e.g., Github, GitLab) on-prem or cloud-based. Verify that you have credentials to access these systems. If you only want to learn how to use version control, you can manage a standalone system on your workstation but you will not be able to share code with others.
How can I connect Workbench to my data?
Coding sessions usually rely on accessing one or more data sets from the Workbench server(s). Depending on your organization’s resources and the use case, it might make sense to store that data in a database, upload it in a flat file like a csv, or some other kind of interface. Examples for connecting to different databases are in the databases documentation.
For enabling access for all users across the server to a data source or setting it up so that resources are loaded by default when launching a session, you can work with your Server administrator for data source integration.
Can I create and use custom Docker images?
Yes, you can create multiple, custom Docker images with the packages you need. Then a specific Docker image can be selected when a session is started. This workflow can be combined with Posit Package Manager so you always get the exact versions of packages that you expect for reproducibility. Refer to the support article on Using Docker images with RStudio Workbench, Launcher, and Kubernetes for more information.
Docker images are only supported when your Workbench environment is deployed using Kubernetes. If you are unsure of the architecture behind your Workbench deployment, please reach out to your server administrator.
What if I find a bug or wish to give product feedback?
If you believe you have found a bug in Posit Workbench itself, or you wish to give feedback on the product, please contact your Sales or Customer Success representative.
What about other questions?
If you have additional questions, please contact your Sales or Customer Success representative for more information and they will direct your questions to the appropriate team. Posit support hours are Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm US Eastern. Detailed information about our support program can be found here.