R devel - Jul 2009 - Rcmd check fails on Windows Samba network path in R 2.9.1

Hi,

I have just updated R from version 2.8.1 to version 2.9.1.  I am running 
Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 3.

With the update, I decided to update a set of packages that I maintain 
by compiling them for the new version.  Everything worked fine except 
for one package.  This package is unique (among the six I was working 
on) in that is stored on a UNIX-based file server that is exported to 
the Windows network via Samba.  The root of that network path is mapped 
to drive "N:" on the local machine.

'Rcmd check' fails for this package under 2.9.1.  The error message in 
'00install.out'  is:
"Error: ERROR: no permission to install to directory 
'N:/krc/Umpire/R-Package/Umpire.Rcheck'"

'Rcmd check' works for this package under 2.8.1.

'Rcmd check' works for this package if the directory is copied onto a 
local hard drive instead of the network drive.

'Rcmd build' and 'Rcmd build --binary' work under both versions.

It would be nice if someone could figure out what has changed and fix it....

Best,
    Kevin Coombes

This error message looks like it comes from 
src/library/tools/R/install.R, which contains the following test:

    if (!.file_test("-d", lib) || file.access(lib, 2L))
        stop("ERROR: no permission to install to directory ",
             sQuote(lib), call. = FALSE)

The function .file_test() is defined earlier in the same file (it looks 
at file.info(lib)$isdir) and appears to be intended to be the same as 
utils:::file_test().

You could start trying to figure out what the problem is by trying these 
calls on the directory in question from an interactive R session.
(They seem to work as intended on my Windows system with a NetApp file 
system mounted on a letter drive.)

-- Tony Plate

Kevin R. Coombes wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have just updated R from version 2.8.1 to version 2.9.1.  I am 
> running Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 3.
>
> With the update, I decided to update a set of packages that I maintain 
> by compiling them for the new version.  Everything worked fine except 
> for one package.  This package is unique (among the six I was working 
> on) in that is stored on a UNIX-based file server that is exported to 
> the Windows network via Samba.  The root of that network path is 
> mapped to drive "N:" on the local machine.
>
> 'Rcmd check' fails for this package under 2.9.1.  The error message
in
> '00install.out'  is:
> "Error: ERROR: no permission to install to directory 
> 'N:/krc/Umpire/R-Package/Umpire.Rcheck'"
>
> 'Rcmd check' works for this package under 2.8.1.
>
> 'Rcmd check' works for this package if the directory is copied onto
a
> local hard drive instead of the network drive.
>
> 'Rcmd build' and 'Rcmd build --binary' work under both
versions.
>
> It would be nice if someone could figure out what has changed and fix 
> it....
>
> Best,
>    Kevin Coombes
>
> ______________________________________________
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>