Integrating R with existing C# website

Question

We have existing website built in C# and hosted on a shared Windows server. The aim is to build a simple app within existing website that would take in some data, entered by user, and process it using some R scripts (some statistics) and publish the output on the website in a static (dynamic?) format.

Basic requirements:

1. Secure
2. Relatively inexpensive
3. Low maintenance requirements

What are the existing options?

• Does Microsoft offer an out-of-the-box solution, given their heavy activity (Revolution R)?
• R.NET could be used if the hosting company (private hosting) allowed R installation on their server (website hosted there). I’m not sure how good this solution would be, however.
• What are the other options apart from Shiny?

_{Old entry on similar issue on SO: Where can I find a hosting service with R?}

Answer 1

A Shiny app can absolutely be integrated into a webpage, typically as an iframe hosted by shinyapps.io, and embedded into your website. See Shiny homepage for an example. You can see some pointers in Embedding a Shiny application in a html document on Google Groups.

A solution more in line with what was asked is to use a server application like RServe to facilitate communication between a running R session and a .NET/C# application. Since RServe allows for remote connections, it can be used by an existing website, with the RServer running on a different server.

Answer 2

Probably your best bet is to fire up an amazon ec2 windows image. install R. use R.NET. done.