user2016

The NIMBLE R package provides a flexible system for programming statistical algorithms for hierarchical models specified using the BUGS language. As part of the system, we compile R code for algorithms and seamlessly link the compiled objects back into R, with our focus being on mathematical operations. Our compiler first generates C++, including Eigen code for linear algebra, before the usual compilation process. The NIMBLE compiler was written with extensibility in mind, such that adding new operations for compilation requires only a few well-defined additions to the code base. We'll describe how one can easily write functions in R and automatically compile them, as well as how the compiler operates behind the scenes. Functions can be stand-alone functions or can be functions that interact with hierarchical models written in BUGS code, which NIMBLE converts to a set of functions and data structures that are also compiled via C++. Finally, we'll show how the system has been used to build a full suite of MCMC and sequential Monte Carlo algorithms that can be used on any hierarchical model.