R help - Apr 2017 - Maximum length for a -e argument to Rscript?

Hi!  I?m attempting to use Rscript to do some automated plotting.  It is working
well, except that I seem to be running into a maximum line length issue, and I?m
wondering if it is a bug on your end.  Here?s an example of the command I?m
trying to run:

/usr/local/bin/Rscript -e '{x <- c(-1.31171, -0.686165, 1.62771,
0.320195, -0.322011, 1.66518, -0.271971, -0.665367, 0.516482, -0.716343,
-0.317471, 0.068046, -0.100371, -1.15907, 0.263329, -0.936049, -0.852444,
0.358817, -0.233959, 0.209891, -0.831575, -0.952987, -0.0420206, -1.78527,
-0.280584, -0.62353, 1.42597, 0.127994, 0.0751232, 0.896835, -0.319488,
0.897876, 0.18457, 0.779571, -0.0543194, 0.226722, -0.769983, -0.723463,
0.144386, -0.468544, -0.349417, 0.336786, 0.749212, -1.62397, 0.683075,
-0.746449, 0.300921, -0.365468, 0.548271, 1.13169, -1.34042, -0.0740572,
1.34986, 0.531771, -0.147157, 0.824894, -1.05816, 1.58867, -0.885764, 1.11912,
0.361512, 1.77985, 0.585099, -1.205, 2.44134, -0.331372, -0.346322, 0.0535267,
-1.75089, 0.0773243, -1.07846, -1.29632, 1.0622, 1.34867, 0.199777, 0.197516,
0.574185, 1.06555, -0.885166, -0.788576, -1.46061, -1.54026, 0.690576, -0.88821,
0.343747, -0.100751, -0.865596, -0.128504, 0.222334, -1.18932, -0.555258,
-0.557368, 0.219272, 0.298858, 0.848022, 0.142608, 1.10082, -0.348039,
0.0566489, 0.662136, 0.50451, -0.909399, 1.02446, 1.40592, -0.114786, -1.10718,
2.02549, 0.0818607, -1.037, 1.18961, -0.204, 2.83165, -0.959653, -0.393082,
-0.463351, 0.914054, 1.14472, -1.32927, 1.25416, 0.372267, 0.410832, 1.04187,
1.22288, 1.27131, 0.0949385, 0.194053, -0.226184, -0.502155, -1.36834,
-0.000591861, -0.565903, 1.14099, 1.67811, 0.331709, -0.756879, 0.889596,
0.718098, 0.740242, -0.861818, 0.0332746, 1.01745, 0.584536, -1.14245,
-0.444485, -1.34237, 0.660603, 1.16048, -0.898828, 0.965746, -1.16953, -2.33417,
0.591078, -0.364892, 0.0719267, -1.21676, 1.12646, 1.37534, 0.0712832, 1.22889,
-0.0110024, 0.248213, -1.12013, -0.525197, -0.352156, -0.317182, -0.89552,
1.53422, -1.36777, 1.52099, 1.18789, -3.15251, 1.24008, -0.564289, -0.515629,
-0.0920464, 2.94027, 0.895481, -0.157643, -0.347874, -0.290823, -0.771436,
1.29285, 0.216689, -1.86856, 2.24075, 0.888635, 0.430417, -0.585856, 1.13119,
-0.243977, 0.544491, 0.921995, 0.815365, 1.2584, -1.29347, 0.0574579, 0.990557,
-1.58657, -0.264373, 0.865893, 0.599298, -0.417531, 0.132897, 1.88597, 1.33112,
-0.880904, 0.0762161, 0.0567852, 0.593295, -0.632135, 0.885625, 0.365863,
-0.17885, 0.420185, -0.508275, 0.974357, 0.628085, 0.710578, 1.72447, 1.38488,
1.01301, 1.30015, 0.260501, 0.808981, 0.440228, 0.416344, -1.66273, -0.397224,
-0.512086, -0.175854, -0.663143, 0.369712, -1.01654, 0.660465, 0.124851,
-1.51101, -0.95725, 2.09893, 1.26819, 1.08086, 0.493204, 0.79073, 1.49191,
0.563689, 0.414473, 2.27361, 0.871923, 0.193703, -0.185039, -0.312859, -1.42267,
-2.11561, 0.311996, -0.0906527, 1.19139, 1.57502, 1.10587, 0.416333, 2.35374,
-1.0531, 0.0450512, 0.979958, 0.398269, 0.0897618, -0.855305, -1.59337,
-0.084904, 0.245872, 1.27115, 1.3512, -0.166962, 1.01098, -1.19854, -2.05932,
-0.98, 0.704973, 0.694688, 1.20408, -1.12553, 0.770056, 1.01602, 0.295223,
-1.18801, 1.51707, 1.1418, -0.148787, 1.28886, 1.23981, 1.67984, 0.0185941,
-0.877581, 0.495042, -0.368668, 1.59972, -2.20849, -1.36852, -0.972566,
-1.01848, -0.366674, -2.60273, -0.540706, -0.475797, 0.227651, -1.11476,
1.73452, -0.212185, 3.04994, -0.251225, -0.0443482, -0.489125, 0.557936,
-0.246389, -0.954287, 0.388668, 0.759049, -0.501683, -1.98722, 0.158712,
-0.897082, -1.17644, 0.192465, -1.49901, -0.289129, -0.0460198, -0.520331,
0.432488, -0.471775, 1.21482, 0.998091, -0.794933, -0.36989, 0.937091, 1.27297,
1.06108, -0.784307, 0.70919, -0.309221, -0.516031, 0.479702, -0.669637, 1.60288,
0.657474, -0.666286, -1.01816, -0.452818, -0.283749, 1.05511, -1.2002, 0.112269,
-1.37403, 1.00512, 0.664936, 0.600516, -1.08099, -0.705522, 0.103051, 0.0461179,
1.74404, 0.727475, 2.41175, 1.20414, 1.71095, 0.0957544, 0.610755, 0.545194,
-0.936381, 0.190467, 0.485791, 0.0855697, 0.142676, 0.721754, -1.84506, 2.1227,
-1.1271, -1.11228, -1.2807, 0.13385, 0.228727, -0.34391, 1.09837, -0.37053,
0.832574, 0.673463, 0.717732, -0.307687, 1.12486, 0.159803, -1.51251, 1.403,
2.0215, 0.010914, -0.543749, 0.137119, 0.200364, -0.104029, -0.930966, -1.56781,
-0.526978, -0.537582, 1.11872, -0.99061, -0.501421, 1.21982, 0.813201,
-0.539109, 0.433523, -0.0615188, 2.04298, 0.697692, 1.34515, 1.7298, 0.515137,
2.08119, 0.550985, 1.49876, 1.31187, 0.920405, 0.597678, 0.884353, -0.732892,
-0.143545, -0.236836, -0.330872, 1.55577, -1.74473, -0.493322, 1.46375, 1.14347,
1.76164, 1.73099, -0.234701, -0.0546848, 0.346991, -0.393301, 1.34267, -1.58519,
-0.381789, 0.622675, 1.34655, 2.84895, -0.371, -0.519666, -1.64944, 0.573592,
1.06484, -0.0239894, -0.604563, 0.0680641, -0.881325, 1.07265, 0.182585,
0.373288, 2.20228, -0.763593, -0.25659, 1.9397, -0.166943, -0.672522, -1.35983,
0.227406, 0.49471, -1.23535, -0.479552, 1.97798, 0.418181, 1.23454, -0.0767748,
0.828642, -0.0348468, -0.264499, 0.76699, -0.910363, -2.11408, -0.209169,
0.902191, -2.27096, 0.098513, -0.380699, -0.231276, -0.0296834, 0.834972,
-0.658283, 0.616493, 0.198916, -1.89783, -1.30219, 0.51036, 0.195825, -1.68961,
-1.27838, 0.879616, 0.566719, 1.21876, 0.270402, -1.38261, 0.365878, 1.54191,
1.25104, 1.23067, 1.87261);y <- c(0.986442, 2.65684, -1.79726, 1.79999,
-2.43971, -1.68358, -1.84081, -2.27973, 2.96046, 2.61837, 1.48756, 1.63497,
1.46876, 2.09348, -0.925101, 3.6792, -2.03618, 1.33232, -0.0652269, 0.809911,
-2.82019, -1.87691, 1.1284, 0.249619, -2.94777, 3.00423, -2.79901, -0.110801,
-3.546, 1.67156, -3.10723, -3.24205, 3.16911, -3.24227, -1.29801, 0.271933,
-2.83573, -0.79973, -2.34429, -0.905163, -0.197905, -3.05664, -0.694481,
1.89301, -2.70264, 2.94361, -2.32469, 1.9576, 1.73556, -3.29777, -1.54311,
-2.03172, -0.871756, 0.77581, 3.7692, 1.54446, 3.92129, 0.160296, -3.45486,
-1.56317, -2.72913, 0.695854, 3.15786, 1.1006, 3.25649, -1.57206, -3.15353,
0.242301, -1.95855, -0.256919, 3.04782, -0.505045, -2.35542, 2.11649, -1.73363,
2.65149, 3.66302, 0.457907, -2.2759, -2.36105, -2.49263, -2.9784, -3.53525,
-0.699404, 3.17647, -1.52424, 2.72699, 3.82774, 0.100029, 3.42107, 1.74672,
3.1279, -0.793162, -0.025109, 1.07262, 2.4517, -2.00605, -3.6625, -2.57031,
-2.43599, 2.56309, -1.31707, -2.10777, -3.75394, 0.954311, 0.496025, 3.82545,
-3.74259, -1.96145, 0.366455, 3.97474, 3.26111, -3.69904, 2.07392, 0.591191,
-3.34162, -0.926126, 1.03966, -2.68754, -2.69653, 0.651845, 2.82333, 2.25596,
3.26545, -2.57379, 2.69137, -3.08119, 2.99114, -3.86005, -1.30995, 1.80096,
1.39404, -2.6482, -2.12922, -3.28834, -1.06563, -1.6683, -2.023, 1.60516,
-1.67431, 1.38595, 0.287423, 2.56888, -2.99169, 0.549401, 2.31817, -2.48251,
2.20152, 1.0531, -3.60478, 0.327999, 0.475523, -0.454324, -2.63147, -1.61249,
-1.65507, 1.13203, 0.218, 2.87289, -0.279036, -0.316795, 3.22757, -2.25,
-1.10923, 0.0949814, -2.60818, -0.181803, 3.65484, 2.86193, 0.940815, 3.5461,
1.23983, 2.01177, -0.428626, 3.5539, -2.63454, 1.63098, 3.69696, 0.404995,
0.480342, 3.22724, -3.57127, -2.38176, -1.23267, 0.738668, 1.64966, 1.37331,
-2.60132, -1.60081, 2.57359, -3.58266, 1.32347, 3.24265, 3.81, 3.90706,
-0.407994, 2.42083, 3.34477, 3.43151, -1.08974, -2.93732, 2.39014, -1.36511,
-0.101514, -1.46445, 2.11849, -3.63955, -1.57038, 3.41777, -1.00185, -0.0702487,
2.01317, -3.38133, 3.64754, -0.740182, -3.64028, -3.77238, 2.45613, -3.11631,
3.82543, 2.15285, -0.790691, -1.22153, -0.943069, -3.37327, 1.19097, 1.48834,
0.502127, -2.90383, -3.4236, -0.676889, 3.41785, 2.54728, -2.60006, -3.25969,
-1.85346, -2.8088, 3.3905, -1.34015, -1.3877, 2.38485, 3.16688, -3.26326,
-1.94801, 0.0878641, 0.492529, 2.62313, -2.08994, -1.77721, 1.92357, 0.739532,
0.869021, -3.82981, 3.92422, -1.16293, 3.82139, -1.67119, 1.1145, -2.24382,
-1.93777, -0.109559, -0.350947, 1.94832, -2.54192, 1.224, 0.797731, 0.767982,
-2.93565, -2.72896, 1.2624, 1.91513, -3.96412, 3.43534, 0.358804, 3.05541,
-0.213663, 0.38204, -0.539063, -0.897154, -2.91298, -0.198784, -0.0732228,
2.99983, 3.54078, 2.27245, 3.87904, 2.99445, -0.705307, 0.187173, 1.79102,
1.69581, 2.08613, 1.54021, 0.7471, -1.19008, 2.44732, -1.59312, 1.5387,
-0.526756, 3.06958, -1.707, -2.46148, -0.523427, -0.675584, -3.02611, -2.22116,
-3.4546, -2.94353, 2.1346, 3.51197, 1.85137, 1.7461, -0.875901, -2.13891,
-2.1714, 1.6953, -0.159958, 1.77583, -0.808156, 2.04446, 3.58507, -1.27303,
-0.0739294, 0.22885, -1.16883, -0.0437807, -1.30141, 2.71702, 2.85379, 3.74969,
3.5839, -0.159889, -0.236555, 2.78411, 2.15217, -0.945737, -1.90692, 0.536403,
-1.08419, -3.75986, 2.65243, -2.29661, 3.8776, 1.23146, -2.26545, 2.79205,
2.34152, -3.62388, -3.51983, -0.152083, -0.77672, -0.0661756, -1.12531, 1.77691,
-1.49266, -0.401453, -2.98782, 1.15182, 3.00211, -0.338523, 2.63385, -1.30166,
-1.96304, -2.03665, -2.91373, 3.33512, 0.26508, -2.4008, -0.989122, -1.96516,
0.498154, -0.139963, 1.762, -0.36494, 2.42886, 1.26076, -0.344707, -2.2629,
3.01517, -0.192693, 1.72579, -3.09541, 0.898774, -3.33187, -2.09473, 2.13997,
-1.20736, -1.78102, 0.661333, -2.15738, -2.82721, -0.34423, 0.945198, -1.3919,
2.24165, -1.72333, -3.61333, 0.177856, -0.499845, 1.08322, -0.57797, 1.32396,
-0.580476, -0.990233, 3.13608, 0.2254, 2.44513, -1.43021, -2.20293, -0.0295935,
3.9359, 0.872028, 2.94495, 2.3334, -1.4539, -2.0155, 1.90474, -1.83284, -3.6983,
-0.223583, -2.19197, 2.98892, 2.11877, -0.614374, 0.860207, 3.63726, -1.54793,
0.699044, -3.31199, -2.87789, 3.21311, -3.24507, -0.0689166, 0.225146, -2.84127,
-3.67944, 0.763724, -3.93721, -3.81518, -1.06853, 0.726999, 0.562243, 3.79879,
3.75762, 2.1455, 2.00329, -0.400098, -1.80113, 3.49374, 3.26726, -1.24347,
2.0535, 2.55697, 0.670452, -2.79004, 1.39668, 2.32366, -2.27311, -0.352436,
-2.71256, -2.31389, -2.11829, 0.111656, -1.67798, 2.97944, -3.7505, -1.88802,
3.50199, 1.31453, 3.32241, -1.04754, -3.03124, 1.60895, 1.15746, 2.29443,
3.31704, -0.172815, 2.81695, 0.253896, 0.298466, -3.90939, -2.39831, 3.46711,
2.41166, 2.03439, 0.387814, -3.40236, -3.71227, -1.68499, -3.81028, 2.97335,
3.32693, -3.88281, -2.61789, -3.31616, 2.71789, 3.05144, -0.579528, -0.672907,
2.75653);quartz(width=4, height=4, type="pdf",
file="~/Desktop/testpdf.pdf");plot(x=x, y=y, xlim=c(-5, 5), ylim=c(-5,
5), pch=19, cex=0.5, main="2000");dev.off();}?

  If I execute the R code that is in the -e argument directly in R GUI (on OS X)
it works fine.  And if I put that code in a file and run Rscript <file>,
it works fine.  So the length limit is not intrinsic to R?s parser, it would
seem.  But if I try to execute exactly the same code in an interactive R session
in my Unix terminal's command line, I get a continuation prompt, +, and a
little investigation indicates that the input line may have been truncated after
3843 characters (a strange number) and it is waiting for more input to follow
that truncated input.  And ? what is most relevant for my situation ? if I try
to run the full Rscript command as given above (inside /bin/sh), it prints out:

WARNING: '-e
{x~+~<-~+~c(-1.31171,~+~-0.686165,~+~1.62771,~+~0.320195,~+~-0.322011,~+~1.66518,~+~-0.271971,~+~-0.665367,~+~0.516482,~+~-0.716343,~+~-0.317471,~+~0.068046,~+~-0.100371,~+~-1.15907,~+~0.263329,~+~-0.936049,~+~-0.852444,~+~0.358817,~+~-0.233959,~+~0.209891,~+~-0.831575,~+~-0.952987,~+~-0.0420206,~+~-1.78527,~+~-0.280584,~+~-0.62353,~+~1.42597,~+~0.127994,~+~0.0751232,~+~0.896835,~+~-0.319488,~+~0.897876,~+~0.18457,~+~0.779571,~+~-0.0543194,~+~0.226722,~+~-0.769983,~+~-0.723463,~+~0.144386,~+~-0.468544,~+~-0.349417,~+~0.336786,~+~0.749212,~+~-1.62397,~+~0.683075,~+~-0.746449,~+~0.300921,~+~-0.365468,~+~0.548271,~+~1.13169,~+~-1.34042,~+~-0.0740572,~+~1.34986,~+~0.531771,~+~-0.147157,~+~0.824894,~+~-1.05816,~+~1.58867,~+~-0.885764,~+~1.11912,~+~0.361512,~+~1.77985,~+~0.585099,~+~-1.205,~+~2.44134,~+~-0.331372,~+~-0.346322,~+~0.0535267,~+~-1.75089,~+~0.0773243,~+~-1.07846,~+~-1.29632,~+~1.0622,~+~1.34867,~+~0.199777,~+~0.197516,~+~0.574185,~+~1.06555,~+~-0.885166,~+~-0.788576,~+~-1.46061,~+~-1.5402

and then it hangs ? the full warning doesn?t complete printing, so it is not
clear what it is trying to warn about.  That represents 844 characters of input
script, but with the weird way that spaces have been replaced by ~+~ by
somebody, it is 1013 characters ? suspiciously close to 1024.

  Note that if I simply make the R script shorter, by plotting 100 x/y values
instead of 500, everything works fine.  So there is no issue with the way that
I?m quoting strings or anything like that; the only issue seems to be the total
length of the command line.

  Now of course I could break up the script into multiple chunks, passed via
separate -e arguments, and perhaps that would work somewhat better.  But given
that I want to set up a vector x with a single c() command containing all of the
data for x, I will still hit a line length limit; the single line of code to set
up x will already be over the maximum line length that Rscript allows for a -e
argument, apparently.  Getting around that would obviously be possible too, but
would be considerably more hassle.

  And incidentally, this seems to have nothing to do with the /bin/sh input line
limit; that is much higher.  According to "getconf ARG_MAX?, it is 262144
characters on my machine, which is more than enough headroom for what I?m trying
to do.

  So my questions are: (1) is this a bug, (2) if so, do you think you are likely
to fix it any time soon :->, and (3) if the answer to that is no, are there
any standard workarounds for this sort of situation that you would recommend?  I
suppose I could write out the script to a file and then execute that file with
Rscript, since that seems to work; but I was really hoping to avoid that extra
complication and overhead.  Is there a better way?

  Thanks for any help you can provide!  :->

Cheers,
-B.

Benjamin C. Haller
Messer Lab
Cornell University

Hi,

I suspect you are over the 10kb limit for the expression.  See 

https://cran.r-project.org/doc/manuals/r-release/R-intro.html#Invoking-R-from-the-command-line

Cheers,
Ben
> On Apr 21, 2017, at 3:44 AM, Ben Haller <bhaller at mac.com> wrote:
> 
>  Hi!  I?m attempting to use Rscript to do some automated plotting.  It is
working well, except that I seem to be running into a maximum line length issue,
and I?m wondering if it is a bug on your end.  Here?s an example of the command
I?m trying to run:
> 
> /usr/local/bin/Rscript -e '{x <- c(-1.31171, -0.686165, 1.62771,
0.320195, -0.322011, 1.66518, -0.271971, -0.665367, 0.516482, -0.716343,
-0.317471, 0.068046, -0.100371, -1.15907, 0.263329, -0.936049, -0.852444,
0.358817, -0.233959, 0.209891, -0.831575, -0.952987, -0.0420206, -1.78527,
-0.280584, -0.62353, 1.42597, 0.127994, 0.0751232, 0.896835, -0.319488,
0.897876, 0.18457, 0.779571, -0.0543194, 0.226722, -0.769983, -0.723463,
0.144386, -0.468544, -0.349417, 0.336786, 0.749212, -1.62397, 0.683075,
-0.746449, 0.300921, -0.365468, 0.548271, 1.13169, -1.34042, -0.0740572,
1.34986, 0.531771, -0.147157, 0.824894, -1.05816, 1.58867, -0.885764, 1.11912,
0.361512, 1.77985, 0.585099, -1.205, 2.44134, -0.331372, -0.346322, 0.0535267,
-1.75089, 0.0773243, -1.07846, -1.29632, 1.0622, 1.34867, 0.199777, 0.197516,
0.574185, 1.06555, -0.885166, -0.788576, -1.46061, -1.54026, 0.690576, -0.88821,
0.343747, -0.100751, -0.865596, -0.128504, 0.222334, -1.18932, -0.555258,
-0.557368, 0.219272, 0.298858, 0.848022, 0.142608, 1.10082, -0.348039,
0.0566489, 0.662136, 0.50451, -0.909399, 1.02446, 1.40592, -0.114786, -1.10718,
2.02549, 0.0818607, -1.037, 1.18961, -0.204, 2.83165, -0.959653, -0.393082,
-0.463351, 0.914054, 1.14472, -1.32927, 1.25416, 0.372267, 0.410832, 1.04187,
1.22288, 1.27131, 0.0949385, 0.194053, -0.226184, -0.502155, -1.36834,
-0.000591861, -0.565903, 1.14099, 1.67811, 0.331709, -0.756879, 0.889596,
0.718098, 0.740242, -0.861818, 0.0332746, 1.01745, 0.584536, -1.14245,
-0.444485, -1.34237, 0.660603, 1.16048, -0.898828, 0.965746, -1.16953, -2.33417,
0.591078, -0.364892, 0.0719267, -1.21676, 1.12646, 1.37534, 0.0712832, 1.22889,
-0.0110024, 0.248213, -1.12013, -0.525197, -0.352156, -0.317182, -0.89552,
1.53422, -1.36777, 1.52099, 1.18789, -3.15251, 1.24008, -0.564289, -0.515629,
-0.0920464, 2.94027, 0.895481, -0.157643, -0.347874, -0.290823, -0.771436,
1.29285, 0.216689, -1.86856, 2.24075, 0.888635, 0.430417, -0.585856, 1.13119,
-0.243977, 0.544491, 0.921995, 0.815365, 1.2584, -1.29347, 0.0574579, 0.990557,
-1.58657, -0.264373, 0.865893, 0.599298, -0.417531, 0.132897, 1.88597, 1.33112,
-0.880904, 0.0762161, 0.0567852, 0.593295, -0.632135, 0.885625, 0.365863,
-0.17885, 0.420185, -0.508275, 0.974357, 0.628085, 0.710578, 1.72447, 1.38488,
1.01301, 1.30015, 0.260501, 0.808981, 0.440228, 0.416344, -1.66273, -0.397224,
-0.512086, -0.175854, -0.663143, 0.369712, -1.01654, 0.660465, 0.124851,
-1.51101, -0.95725, 2.09893, 1.26819, 1.08086, 0.493204, 0.79073, 1.49191,
0.563689, 0.414473, 2.27361, 0.871923, 0.193703, -0.185039, -0.312859, -1.42267,
-2.11561, 0.311996, -0.0906527, 1.19139, 1.57502, 1.10587, 0.416333, 2.35374,
-1.0531, 0.0450512, 0.979958, 0.398269, 0.0897618, -0.855305, -1.59337,
-0.084904, 0.245872, 1.27115, 1.3512, -0.166962, 1.01098, -1.19854, -2.05932,
-0.98, 0.704973, 0.694688, 1.20408, -1.12553, 0.770056, 1.01602, 0.295223,
-1.18801, 1.51707, 1.1418, -0.148787, 1.28886, 1.23981, 1.67984, 0.0185941,
-0.877581, 0.495042, -0.368668, 1.59972, -2.20849, -1.36852, -0.972566,
-1.01848, -0.366674, -2.60273, -0.540706, -0.475797, 0.227651, -1.11476,
1.73452, -0.212185, 3.04994, -0.251225, -0.0443482, -0.489125, 0.557936,
-0.246389, -0.954287, 0.388668, 0.759049, -0.501683, -1.98722, 0.158712,
-0.897082, -1.17644, 0.192465, -1.49901, -0.289129, -0.0460198, -0.520331,
0.432488, -0.471775, 1.21482, 0.998091, -0.794933, -0.36989, 0.937091, 1.27297,
1.06108, -0.784307, 0.70919, -0.309221, -0.516031, 0.479702, -0.669637, 1.60288,
0.657474, -0.666286, -1.01816, -0.452818, -0.283749, 1.05511, -1.2002, 0.112269,
-1.37403, 1.00512, 0.664936, 0.600516, -1.08099, -0.705522, 0.103051, 0.0461179,
1.74404, 0.727475, 2.41175, 1.20414, 1.71095, 0.0957544, 0.610755, 0.545194,
-0.936381, 0.190467, 0.485791, 0.0855697, 0.142676, 0.721754, -1.84506, 2.1227,
-1.1271, -1.11228, -1.2807, 0.13385, 0.228727, -0.34391, 1.09837, -0.37053,
0.832574, 0.673463, 0.717732, -0.307687, 1.12486, 0.159803, -1.51251, 1.403,
2.0215, 0.010914, -0.543749, 0.137119, 0.200364, -0.104029, -0.930966, -1.56781,
-0.526978, -0.537582, 1.11872, -0.99061, -0.501421, 1.21982, 0.813201,
-0.539109, 0.433523, -0.0615188, 2.04298, 0.697692, 1.34515, 1.7298, 0.515137,
2.08119, 0.550985, 1.49876, 1.31187, 0.920405, 0.597678, 0.884353, -0.732892,
-0.143545, -0.236836, -0.330872, 1.55577, -1.74473, -0.493322, 1.46375, 1.14347,
1.76164, 1.73099, -0.234701, -0.0546848, 0.346991, -0.393301, 1.34267, -1.58519,
-0.381789, 0.622675, 1.34655, 2.84895, -0.371, -0.519666, -1.64944, 0.573592,
1.06484, -0.0239894, -0.604563, 0.0680641, -0.881325, 1.07265, 0.182585,
0.373288, 2.20228, -0.763593, -0.25659, 1.9397, -0.166943, -0.672522, -1.35983,
0.227406, 0.49471, -1.23535, -0.479552, 1.97798, 0.418181, 1.23454, -0.0767748,
0.828642, -0.0348468, -0.264499, 0.76699, -0.910363, -2.11408, -0.209169,
0.902191, -2.27096, 0.098513, -0.380699, -0.231276, -0.0296834, 0.834972,
-0.658283, 0.616493, 0.198916, -1.89783, -1.30219, 0.51036, 0.195825, -1.68961,
-1.27838, 0.879616, 0.566719, 1.21876, 0.270402, -1.38261, 0.365878, 1.54191,
1.25104, 1.23067, 1.87261);y <- c(0.986442, 2.65684, -1.79726, 1.79999,
-2.43971, -1.68358, -1.84081, -2.27973, 2.96046, 2.61837, 1.48756, 1.63497,
1.46876, 2.09348, -0.925101, 3.6792, -2.03618, 1.33232, -0.0652269, 0.809911,
-2.82019, -1.87691, 1.1284, 0.249619, -2.94777, 3.00423, -2.79901, -0.110801,
-3.546, 1.67156, -3.10723, -3.24205, 3.16911, -3.24227, -1.29801, 0.271933,
-2.83573, -0.79973, -2.34429, -0.905163, -0.197905, -3.05664, -0.694481,
1.89301, -2.70264, 2.94361, -2.32469, 1.9576, 1.73556, -3.29777, -1.54311,
-2.03172, -0.871756, 0.77581, 3.7692, 1.54446, 3.92129, 0.160296, -3.45486,
-1.56317, -2.72913, 0.695854, 3.15786, 1.1006, 3.25649, -1.57206, -3.15353,
0.242301, -1.95855, -0.256919, 3.04782, -0.505045, -2.35542, 2.11649, -1.73363,
2.65149, 3.66302, 0.457907, -2.2759, -2.36105, -2.49263, -2.9784, -3.53525,
-0.699404, 3.17647, -1.52424, 2.72699, 3.82774, 0.100029, 3.42107, 1.74672,
3.1279, -0.793162, -0.025109, 1.07262, 2.4517, -2.00605, -3.6625, -2.57031,
-2.43599, 2.56309, -1.31707, -2.10777, -3.75394, 0.954311, 0.496025, 3.82545,
-3.74259, -1.96145, 0.366455, 3.97474, 3.26111, -3.69904, 2.07392, 0.591191,
-3.34162, -0.926126, 1.03966, -2.68754, -2.69653, 0.651845, 2.82333, 2.25596,
3.26545, -2.57379, 2.69137, -3.08119, 2.99114, -3.86005, -1.30995, 1.80096,
1.39404, -2.6482, -2.12922, -3.28834, -1.06563, -1.6683, -2.023, 1.60516,
-1.67431, 1.38595, 0.287423, 2.56888, -2.99169, 0.549401, 2.31817, -2.48251,
2.20152, 1.0531, -3.60478, 0.327999, 0.475523, -0.454324, -2.63147, -1.61249,
-1.65507, 1.13203, 0.218, 2.87289, -0.279036, -0.316795, 3.22757, -2.25,
-1.10923, 0.0949814, -2.60818, -0.181803, 3.65484, 2.86193, 0.940815, 3.5461,
1.23983, 2.01177, -0.428626, 3.5539, -2.63454, 1.63098, 3.69696, 0.404995,
0.480342, 3.22724, -3.57127, -2.38176, -1.23267, 0.738668, 1.64966, 1.37331,
-2.60132, -1.60081, 2.57359, -3.58266, 1.32347, 3.24265, 3.81, 3.90706,
-0.407994, 2.42083, 3.34477, 3.43151, -1.08974, -2.93732, 2.39014, -1.36511,
-0.101514, -1.46445, 2.11849, -3.63955, -1.57038, 3.41777, -1.00185, -0.0702487,
2.01317, -3.38133, 3.64754, -0.740182, -3.64028, -3.77238, 2.45613, -3.11631,
3.82543, 2.15285, -0.790691, -1.22153, -0.943069, -3.37327, 1.19097, 1.48834,
0.502127, -2.90383, -3.4236, -0.676889, 3.41785, 2.54728, -2.60006, -3.25969,
-1.85346, -2.8088, 3.3905, -1.34015, -1.3877, 2.38485, 3.16688, -3.26326,
-1.94801, 0.0878641, 0.492529, 2.62313, -2.08994, -1.77721, 1.92357, 0.739532,
0.869021, -3.82981, 3.92422, -1.16293, 3.82139, -1.67119, 1.1145, -2.24382,
-1.93777, -0.109559, -0.350947, 1.94832, -2.54192, 1.224, 0.797731, 0.767982,
-2.93565, -2.72896, 1.2624, 1.91513, -3.96412, 3.43534, 0.358804, 3.05541,
-0.213663, 0.38204, -0.539063, -0.897154, -2.91298, -0.198784, -0.0732228,
2.99983, 3.54078, 2.27245, 3.87904, 2.99445, -0.705307, 0.187173, 1.79102,
1.69581, 2.08613, 1.54021, 0.7471, -1.19008, 2.44732, -1.59312, 1.5387,
-0.526756, 3.06958, -1.707, -2.46148, -0.523427, -0.675584, -3.02611, -2.22116,
-3.4546, -2.94353, 2.1346, 3.51197, 1.85137, 1.7461, -0.875901, -2.13891,
-2.1714, 1.6953, -0.159958, 1.77583, -0.808156, 2.04446, 3.58507, -1.27303,
-0.0739294, 0.22885, -1.16883, -0.0437807, -1.30141, 2.71702, 2.85379, 3.74969,
3.5839, -0.159889, -0.236555, 2.78411, 2.15217, -0.945737, -1.90692, 0.536403,
-1.08419, -3.75986, 2.65243, -2.29661, 3.8776, 1.23146, -2.26545, 2.79205,
2.34152, -3.62388, -3.51983, -0.152083, -0.77672, -0.0661756, -1.12531, 1.77691,
-1.49266, -0.401453, -2.98782, 1.15182, 3.00211, -0.338523, 2.63385, -1.30166,
-1.96304, -2.03665, -2.91373, 3.33512, 0.26508, -2.4008, -0.989122, -1.96516,
0.498154, -0.139963, 1.762, -0.36494, 2.42886, 1.26076, -0.344707, -2.2629,
3.01517, -0.192693, 1.72579, -3.09541, 0.898774, -3.33187, -2.09473, 2.13997,
-1.20736, -1.78102, 0.661333, -2.15738, -2.82721, -0.34423, 0.945198, -1.3919,
2.24165, -1.72333, -3.61333, 0.177856, -0.499845, 1.08322, -0.57797, 1.32396,
-0.580476, -0.990233, 3.13608, 0.2254, 2.44513, -1.43021, -2.20293, -0.0295935,
3.9359, 0.872028, 2.94495, 2.3334, -1.4539, -2.0155, 1.90474, -1.83284, -3.6983,
-0.223583, -2.19197, 2.98892, 2.11877, -0.614374, 0.860207, 3.63726, -1.54793,
0.699044, -3.31199, -2.87789, 3.21311, -3.24507, -0.0689166, 0.225146, -2.84127,
-3.67944, 0.763724, -3.93721, -3.81518, -1.06853, 0.726999, 0.562243, 3.79879,
3.75762, 2.1455, 2.00329, -0.400098, -1.80113, 3.49374, 3.26726, -1.24347,
2.0535, 2.55697, 0.670452, -2.79004, 1.39668, 2.32366, -2.27311, -0.352436,
-2.71256, -2.31389, -2.11829, 0.111656, -1.67798, 2.97944, -3.7505, -1.88802,
3.50199, 1.31453, 3.32241, -1.04754, -3.03124, 1.60895, 1.15746, 2.29443,
3.31704, -0.172815, 2.81695, 0.253896, 0.298466, -3.90939, -2.39831, 3.46711,
2.41166, 2.03439, 0.387814, -3.40236, -3.71227, -1.68499, -3.81028, 2.97335,
3.32693, -3.88281, -2.61789, -3.31616, 2.71789, 3.05144, -0.579528, -0.672907,
2.75653);quartz(width=4, height=4, type="pdf",
file="~/Desktop/testpdf.pdf");plot(x=x, y=y, xlim=c(-5, 5), ylim=c(-5,
5), pch=19, cex=0.5, main="2000");dev.off();}?
> 
>  If I execute the R code that is in the -e argument directly in R GUI (on
OS X) it works fine.  And if I put that code in a file and run Rscript
<file>, it works fine.  So the length limit is not intrinsic to R?s
parser, it would seem.  But if I try to execute exactly the same code in an
interactive R session in my Unix terminal's command line, I get a
continuation prompt, +, and a little investigation indicates that the input line
may have been truncated after 3843 characters (a strange number) and it is
waiting for more input to follow that truncated input.  And ? what is most
relevant for my situation ? if I try to run the full Rscript command as given
above (inside /bin/sh), it prints out:
> 
> WARNING: '-e
{x~+~<-~+~c(-1.31171,~+~-0.686165,~+~1.62771,~+~0.320195,~+~-0.322011,~+~1.66518,~+~-0.271971,~+~-0.665367,~+~0.516482,~+~-0.716343,~+~-0.317471,~+~0.068046,~+~-0.100371,~+~-1.15907,~+~0.263329,~+~-0.936049,~+~-0.852444,~+~0.358817,~+~-0.233959,~+~0.209891,~+~-0.831575,~+~-0.952987,~+~-0.0420206,~+~-1.78527,~+~-0.280584,~+~-0.62353,~+~1.42597,~+~0.127994,~+~0.0751232,~+~0.896835,~+~-0.319488,~+~0.897876,~+~0.18457,~+~0.779571,~+~-0.0543194,~+~0.226722,~+~-0.769983,~+~-0.723463,~+~0.144386,~+~-0.468544,~+~-0.349417,~+~0.336786,~+~0.749212,~+~-1.62397,~+~0.683075,~+~-0.746449,~+~0.300921,~+~-0.365468,~+~0.548271,~+~1.13169,~+~-1.34042,~+~-0.0740572,~+~1.34986,~+~0.531771,~+~-0.147157,~+~0.824894,~+~-1.05816,~+~1.58867,~+~-0.885764,~+~1.11912,~+~0.361512,~+~1.77985,~+~0.585099,~+~-1.205,~+~2.44134,~+~-0.331372,~+~-0.346322,~+~0.0535267,~+~-1.75089,~+~0.0773243,~+~-1.07846,~+~-1.29632,~+~1.0622,~+~1.34867,~+~0.199777,~+~0.197516,~+~0.574185,~+~1.06555,~+~-0.885166,~+~-0.788576,~+~-1.46061,~+~-1.5402
> 
> and then it hangs ? the full warning doesn?t complete printing, so it is
not clear what it is trying to warn about.  That represents 844 characters of
input script, but with the weird way that spaces have been replaced by ~+~ by
somebody, it is 1013 characters ? suspiciously close to 1024.
> 
>  Note that if I simply make the R script shorter, by plotting 100 x/y
values instead of 500, everything works fine.  So there is no issue with the way
that I?m quoting strings or anything like that; the only issue seems to be the
total length of the command line.
> 
>  Now of course I could break up the script into multiple chunks, passed via
separate -e arguments, and perhaps that would work somewhat better.  But given
that I want to set up a vector x with a single c() command containing all of the
data for x, I will still hit a line length limit; the single line of code to set
up x will already be over the maximum line length that Rscript allows for a -e
argument, apparently.  Getting around that would obviously be possible too, but
would be considerably more hassle.
> 
>  And incidentally, this seems to have nothing to do with the /bin/sh input
line limit; that is much higher.  According to "getconf ARG_MAX?, it is
262144 characters on my machine, which is more than enough headroom for what I?m
trying to do.
> 
>  So my questions are: (1) is this a bug, (2) if so, do you think you are
likely to fix it any time soon :->, and (3) if the answer to that is no, are
there any standard workarounds for this sort of situation that you would
recommend?  I suppose I could write out the script to a file and then execute
that file with Rscript, since that seems to work; but I was really hoping to
avoid that extra complication and overhead.  Is there a better way?
> 
>  Thanks for any help you can provide!  :->
> 
> Cheers,
> -B.
> 
> Benjamin C. Haller
> Messer Lab
> Cornell University
> 
> ______________________________________________
> R-help at r-project.org mailing list -- To UNSUBSCRIBE and more, see
> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> PLEASE do read the posting guide
http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
Ben Tupper
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
60 Bigelow Drive, P.O. Box 380
East Boothbay, Maine 04544
http://www.bigelow.org

That Rscript stalls sounds like a bug, but not sure it's R or the
terminal that needs to be fixed:

  Rscript -e "$long_expression"
WARNING: '-e
{x~+~<-~+~c(-1.31171,~+~-0.686165,~+~1.62771,~+~0.320195,~+~-0.322011,~+~1.66518,~+~-0.271971,~+~-0.665367,~+~0.516482,~+~-0.716343,~+~-0.317471,~+~0.068046,~+~-0.100371,~+~-1.15907,~+~0.263329,~+~-0.936049,~+~-0.852444,~+~0.358817,~+~-0.233959,~+~0.209891,~+~-0.831575,~+~-0.952987,~+~-0.0420206,~+~-1.78527,~+~-0.280584,~+~-0.62353,~+~1.42597,~+~0.127994,~+~0.0751232,~+~0.896835,~+~-0.319488,~+~0.897876,~+~0.18457,~+~0.779571,~+~-0.0543194,~+~0.226722,~+~-0.769983,~+~-0.723463,~+~0.144386,~+~-0.468544,~+~-0.349417,~+~0.336786,~+~0.749212,~+~-1.62397,~+~0.683075,~+~-0.746449,~+~0.300921,~+~-0.365468,~+~0.548271,~+~1.13169,~+~-1.34042,~+~-0.0740572,~+~1.34986,~+~0.531771,~+~-0.147157,~+~0.824894,~+~-1.05816,~+~1.58867,~+~-0.885764,~+~1.11912,~+~0.361512,~+~1.77985,~+~0.585099,~+~-1.205,~+~2.44134,~+~-0.331372,~+~-0.346322,~+~0.0535267,~+~-1.75089,~+~0.0773243,~+~-1.07846,~+~-1.29632,~+~1.0622,~+~1.34867,~+~0.199777,~+~0.197516,~+~0.574185,~+~1.06555,~+~-0.885166,~+~-0.788576,~+~-1.46061,~+~-1.5402
^C^C
^C
^C^C^C^C^C^C
^\Quit (core dumped)

On my default Ubuntu 16.04 terminal, R 3.3.3 hangs and does not
respond to user interrupts (SIGINT), but it does respond to Ctrl-\
(SIGKILL).

A workaround is to pass the expression via standard input to R, e.g.

$ echo "$long_expression" | R --no-save

/Henrik

On Fri, Apr 21, 2017 at 11:07 AM, Ben Tupper <btupper at bigelow.org>
wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I suspect you are over the 10kb limit for the expression.  See
>
>
https://cran.r-project.org/doc/manuals/r-release/R-intro.html#Invoking-R-from-the-command-line
>
> Cheers,
> Ben
>
>> On Apr 21, 2017, at 3:44 AM, Ben Haller <bhaller at mac.com>
wrote:
>>
>>  Hi!  I?m attempting to use Rscript to do some automated plotting.  It
is working well, except that I seem to be running into a maximum line length
issue, and I?m wondering if it is a bug on your end.  Here?s an example of the
command I?m trying to run:
>>
>> /usr/local/bin/Rscript -e '{x <- c(-1.31171, -0.686165, 1.62771,
0.320195, -0.322011, 1.66518, -0.271971, -0.665367, 0.516482, -0.716343,
-0.317471, 0.068046, -0.100371, -1.15907, 0.263329, -0.936049, -0.852444,
0.358817, -0.233959, 0.209891, -0.831575, -0.952987, -0.0420206, -1.78527,
-0.280584, -0.62353, 1.42597, 0.127994, 0.0751232, 0.896835, -0.319488,
0.897876, 0.18457, 0.779571, -0.0543194, 0.226722, -0.769983, -0.723463,
0.144386, -0.468544, -0.349417, 0.336786, 0.749212, -1.62397, 0.683075,
-0.746449, 0.300921, -0.365468, 0.548271, 1.13169, -1.34042, -0.0740572,
1.34986, 0.531771, -0.147157, 0.824894, -1.05816, 1.58867, -0.885764, 1.11912,
0.361512, 1.77985, 0.585099, -1.205, 2.44134, -0.331372, -0.346322, 0.0535267,
-1.75089, 0.0773243, -1.07846, -1.29632, 1.0622, 1.34867, 0.199777, 0.197516,
0.574185, 1.06555, -0.885166, -0.788576, -1.46061, -1.54026, 0.690576, -0.88821,
0.343747, -0.100751, -0.865596, -0.128504, 0.222334, -1.18932, -0.555258,
-0.557368, 0.219272, 0.298858, 0.848022, 0.142608, 1.10082, -0.348039,
0.0566489, 0.662136, 0.50451, -0.909399, 1.02446, 1.40592, -0.114786, -1.10718,
2.02549, 0.0818607, -1.037, 1.18961, -0.204, 2.83165, -0.959653, -0.393082,
-0.463351, 0.914054, 1.14472, -1.32927, 1.25416, 0.372267, 0.410832, 1.04187,
1.22288, 1.27131, 0.0949385, 0.194053, -0.226184, -0.502155, -1.36834,
-0.000591861, -0.565903, 1.14099, 1.67811, 0.331709, -0.756879, 0.889596,
0.718098, 0.740242, -0.861818, 0.0332746, 1.01745, 0.584536, -1.14245,
-0.444485, -1.34237, 0.660603, 1.16048, -0.898828, 0.965746, -1.16953, -2.33417,
0.591078, -0.364892, 0.0719267, -1.21676, 1.12646, 1.37534, 0.0712832, 1.22889,
-0.0110024, 0.248213, -1.12013, -0.525197, -0.352156, -0.317182, -0.89552,
1.53422, -1.36777, 1.52099, 1.18789, -3.15251, 1.24008, -0.564289, -0.515629,
-0.0920464, 2.94027, 0.895481, -0.157643, -0.347874, -0.290823, -0.771436,
1.29285, 0.216689, -1.86856, 2.24075, 0.888635, 0.430417, -0.585856, 1.13119,
-0.243977, 0.544491, 0.921995, 0.815365, 1.2584, -1.29347, 0.0574579, 0.990557,
-1.58657, -0.264373, 0.865893, 0.599298, -0.417531, 0.132897, 1.88597, 1.33112,
-0.880904, 0.0762161, 0.0567852, 0.593295, -0.632135, 0.885625, 0.365863,
-0.17885, 0.420185, -0.508275, 0.974357, 0.628085, 0.710578, 1.72447, 1.38488,
1.01301, 1.30015, 0.260501, 0.808981, 0.440228, 0.416344, -1.66273, -0.397224,
-0.512086, -0.175854, -0.663143, 0.369712, -1.01654, 0.660465, 0.124851,
-1.51101, -0.95725, 2.09893, 1.26819, 1.08086, 0.493204, 0.79073, 1.49191,
0.563689, 0.414473, 2.27361, 0.871923, 0.193703, -0.185039, -0.312859, -1.42267,
-2.11561, 0.311996, -0.0906527, 1.19139, 1.57502, 1.10587, 0.416333, 2.35374,
-1.0531, 0.0450512, 0.979958, 0.398269, 0.0897618, -0.855305, -1.59337,
-0.084904, 0.245872, 1.27115, 1.3512, -0.166962, 1.01098, -1.19854, -2.05932,
-0.98, 0.704973, 0.694688, 1.20408, -1.12553, 0.770056, 1.01602, 0.295223,
-1.18801, 1.51707, 1.1418, -0.148787, 1.28886, 1.23981, 1.67984, 0.0185941,
-0.877581, 0.495042, -0.368668, 1.59972, -2.20849, -1.36852, -0.972566,
-1.01848, -0.366674, -2.60273, -0.540706, -0.475797, 0.227651, -1.11476,
1.73452, -0.212185, 3.04994, -0.251225, -0.0443482, -0.489125, 0.557936,
-0.246389, -0.954287, 0.388668, 0.759049, -0.501683, -1.98722, 0.158712,
-0.897082, -1.17644, 0.192465, -1.49901, -0.289129, -0.0460198, -0.520331,
0.432488, -0.471775, 1.21482, 0.998091, -0.794933, -0.36989, 0.937091, 1.27297,
1.06108, -0.784307, 0.70919, -0.309221, -0.516031, 0.479702, -0.669637, 1.60288,
0.657474, -0.666286, -1.01816, -0.452818, -0.283749, 1.05511, -1.2002, 0.112269,
-1.37403, 1.00512, 0.664936, 0.600516, -1.08099, -0.705522, 0.103051, 0.0461179,
1.74404, 0.727475, 2.41175, 1.20414, 1.71095, 0.0957544, 0.610755, 0.545194,
-0.936381, 0.190467, 0.485791, 0.0855697, 0.142676, 0.721754, -1.84506, 2.1227,
-1.1271, -1.11228, -1.2807, 0.13385, 0.228727, -0.34391, 1.09837, -0.37053,
0.832574, 0.673463, 0.717732, -0.307687, 1.12486, 0.159803, -1.51251, 1.403,
2.0215, 0.010914, -0.543749, 0.137119, 0.200364, -0.104029, -0.930966, -1.56781,
-0.526978, -0.537582, 1.11872, -0.99061, -0.501421, 1.21982, 0.813201,
-0.539109, 0.433523, -0.0615188, 2.04298, 0.697692, 1.34515, 1.7298, 0.515137,
2.08119, 0.550985, 1.49876, 1.31187, 0.920405, 0.597678, 0.884353, -0.732892,
-0.143545, -0.236836, -0.330872, 1.55577, -1.74473, -0.493322, 1.46375, 1.14347,
1.76164, 1.73099, -0.234701, -0.0546848, 0.346991, -0.393301, 1.34267, -1.58519,
-0.381789, 0.622675, 1.34655, 2.84895, -0.371, -0.519666, -1.64944, 0.573592,
1.06484, -0.0239894, -0.604563, 0.0680641, -0.881325, 1.07265, 0.182585,
0.373288, 2.20228, -0.763593, -0.25659, 1.9397, -0.166943, -0.672522, -1.35983,
0.227406, 0.49471, -1.23535, -0.479552, 1.97798, 0.418181, 1.23454, -0.0767748,
0.828642, -0.0348468, -0.264499, 0.76699, -0.910363, -2.11408, -0.209169,
0.902191, -2.27096, 0.098513, -0.380699, -0.231276, -0.0296834, 0.834972,
-0.658283, 0.616493, 0.198916, -1.89783, -1.30219, 0.51036, 0.195825, -1.68961,
-1.27838, 0.879616, 0.566719, 1.21876, 0.270402, -1.38261, 0.365878, 1.54191,
1.25104, 1.23067, 1.87261);y <- c(0.986442, 2.65684, -1.79726, 1.79999,
-2.43971, -1.68358, -1.84081, -2.27973, 2.96046, 2.61837, 1.48756, 1.63497,
1.46876, 2.09348, -0.925101, 3.6792, -2.03618, 1.33232, -0.0652269, 0.809911,
-2.82019, -1.87691, 1.1284, 0.249619, -2.94777, 3.00423, -2.79901, -0.110801,
-3.546, 1.67156, -3.10723, -3.24205, 3.16911, -3.24227, -1.29801, 0.271933,
-2.83573, -0.79973, -2.34429, -0.905163, -0.197905, -3.05664, -0.694481,
1.89301, -2.70264, 2.94361, -2.32469, 1.9576, 1.73556, -3.29777, -1.54311,
-2.03172, -0.871756, 0.77581, 3.7692, 1.54446, 3.92129, 0.160296, -3.45486,
-1.56317, -2.72913, 0.695854, 3.15786, 1.1006, 3.25649, -1.57206, -3.15353,
0.242301, -1.95855, -0.256919, 3.04782, -0.505045, -2.35542, 2.11649, -1.73363,
2.65149, 3.66302, 0.457907, -2.2759, -2.36105, -2.49263, -2.9784, -3.53525,
-0.699404, 3.17647, -1.52424, 2.72699, 3.82774, 0.100029, 3.42107, 1.74672,
3.1279, -0.793162, -0.025109, 1.07262, 2.4517, -2.00605, -3.6625, -2.57031,
-2.43599, 2.56309, -1.31707, -2.10777, -3.75394, 0.954311, 0.496025, 3.82545,
-3.74259, -1.96145, 0.366455, 3.97474, 3.26111, -3.69904, 2.07392, 0.591191,
-3.34162, -0.926126, 1.03966, -2.68754, -2.69653, 0.651845, 2.82333, 2.25596,
3.26545, -2.57379, 2.69137, -3.08119, 2.99114, -3.86005, -1.30995, 1.80096,
1.39404, -2.6482, -2.12922, -3.28834, -1.06563, -1.6683, -2.023, 1.60516,
-1.67431, 1.38595, 0.287423, 2.56888, -2.99169, 0.549401, 2.31817, -2.48251,
2.20152, 1.0531, -3.60478, 0.327999, 0.475523, -0.454324, -2.63147, -1.61249,
-1.65507, 1.13203, 0.218, 2.87289, -0.279036, -0.316795, 3.22757, -2.25,
-1.10923, 0.0949814, -2.60818, -0.181803, 3.65484, 2.86193, 0.940815, 3.5461,
1.23983, 2.01177, -0.428626, 3.5539, -2.63454, 1.63098, 3.69696, 0.404995,
0.480342, 3.22724, -3.57127, -2.38176, -1.23267, 0.738668, 1.64966, 1.37331,
-2.60132, -1.60081, 2.57359, -3.58266, 1.32347, 3.24265, 3.81, 3.90706,
-0.407994, 2.42083, 3.34477, 3.43151, -1.08974, -2.93732, 2.39014, -1.36511,
-0.101514, -1.46445, 2.11849, -3.63955, -1.57038, 3.41777, -1.00185, -0.0702487,
2.01317, -3.38133, 3.64754, -0.740182, -3.64028, -3.77238, 2.45613, -3.11631,
3.82543, 2.15285, -0.790691, -1.22153, -0.943069, -3.37327, 1.19097, 1.48834,
0.502127, -2.90383, -3.4236, -0.676889, 3.41785, 2.54728, -2.60006, -3.25969,
-1.85346, -2.8088, 3.3905, -1.34015, -1.3877, 2.38485, 3.16688, -3.26326,
-1.94801, 0.0878641, 0.492529, 2.62313, -2.08994, -1.77721, 1.92357, 0.739532,
0.869021, -3.82981, 3.92422, -1.16293, 3.82139, -1.67119, 1.1145, -2.24382,
-1.93777, -0.109559, -0.350947, 1.94832, -2.54192, 1.224, 0.797731, 0.767982,
-2.93565, -2.72896, 1.2624, 1.91513, -3.96412, 3.43534, 0.358804, 3.05541,
-0.213663, 0.38204, -0.539063, -0.897154, -2.91298, -0.198784, -0.0732228,
2.99983, 3.54078, 2.27245, 3.87904, 2.99445, -0.705307, 0.187173, 1.79102,
1.69581, 2.08613, 1.54021, 0.7471, -1.19008, 2.44732, -1.59312, 1.5387,
-0.526756, 3.06958, -1.707, -2.46148, -0.523427, -0.675584, -3.02611, -2.22116,
-3.4546, -2.94353, 2.1346, 3.51197, 1.85137, 1.7461, -0.875901, -2.13891,
-2.1714, 1.6953, -0.159958, 1.77583, -0.808156, 2.04446, 3.58507, -1.27303,
-0.0739294, 0.22885, -1.16883, -0.0437807, -1.30141, 2.71702, 2.85379, 3.74969,
3.5839, -0.159889, -0.236555, 2.78411, 2.15217, -0.945737, -1.90692, 0.536403,
-1.08419, -3.75986, 2.65243, -2.29661, 3.8776, 1.23146, -2.26545, 2.79205,
2.34152, -3.62388, -3.51983, -0.152083, -0.77672, -0.0661756, -1.12531, 1.77691,
-1.49266, -0.401453, -2.98782, 1.15182, 3.00211, -0.338523, 2.63385, -1.30166,
-1.96304, -2.03665, -2.91373, 3.33512, 0.26508, -2.4008, -0.989122, -1.96516,
0.498154, -0.139963, 1.762, -0.36494, 2.42886, 1.26076, -0.344707, -2.2629,
3.01517, -0.192693, 1.72579, -3.09541, 0.898774, -3.33187, -2.09473, 2.13997,
-1.20736, -1.78102, 0.661333, -2.15738, -2.82721, -0.34423, 0.945198, -1.3919,
2.24165, -1.72333, -3.61333, 0.177856, -0.499845, 1.08322, -0.57797, 1.32396,
-0.580476, -0.990233, 3.13608, 0.2254, 2.44513, -1.43021, -2.20293, -0.0295935,
3.9359, 0.872028, 2.94495, 2.3334, -1.4539, -2.0155, 1.90474, -1.83284, -3.6983,
-0.223583, -2.19197, 2.98892, 2.11877, -0.614374, 0.860207, 3.63726, -1.54793,
0.699044, -3.31199, -2.87789, 3.21311, -3.24507, -0.0689166, 0.225146, -2.84127,
-3.67944, 0.763724, -3.93721, -3.81518, -1.06853, 0.726999, 0.562243, 3.79879,
3.75762, 2.1455, 2.00329, -0.400098, -1.80113, 3.49374, 3.26726, -1.24347,
2.0535, 2.55697, 0.670452, -2.79004, 1.39668, 2.32366, -2.27311, -0.352436,
-2.71256, -2.31389, -2.11829, 0.111656, -1.67798, 2.97944, -3.7505, -1.88802,
3.50199, 1.31453, 3.32241, -1.04754, -3.03124, 1.60895, 1.15746, 2.29443,
3.31704, -0.172815, 2.81695, 0.253896, 0.298466, -3.90939, -2.39831, 3.46711,
2.41166, 2.03439, 0.387814, -3.40236, -3.71227, -1.68499, -3.81028, 2.97335,
3.32693, -3.88281, -2.61789, -3.31616, 2.71789, 3.05144, -0.579528, -0.672907,
2.75653);quartz(width=4, height=4, type="pdf",
file="~/Desktop/testpdf.pdf");plot(x=x, y=y, xlim=c(-5, 5), ylim=c(-5,
5), pch=19, cex=0.5, main="2000");dev.off();}?
>>
>>  If I execute the R code that is in the -e argument directly in R GUI
(on OS X) it works fine.  And if I put that code in a file and run Rscript
<file>, it works fine.  So the length limit is not intrinsic to R?s
parser, it would seem.  But if I try to execute exactly the same code in an
interactive R session in my Unix terminal's command line, I get a
continuation prompt, +, and a little investigation indicates that the input line
may have been truncated after 3843 characters (a strange number) and it is
waiting for more input to follow that truncated input.  And ? what is most
relevant for my situation ? if I try to run the full Rscript command as given
above (inside /bin/sh), it prints out:
>>
>> WARNING: '-e
{x~+~<-~+~c(-1.31171,~+~-0.686165,~+~1.62771,~+~0.320195,~+~-0.322011,~+~1.66518,~+~-0.271971,~+~-0.665367,~+~0.516482,~+~-0.716343,~+~-0.317471,~+~0.068046,~+~-0.100371,~+~-1.15907,~+~0.263329,~+~-0.936049,~+~-0.852444,~+~0.358817,~+~-0.233959,~+~0.209891,~+~-0.831575,~+~-0.952987,~+~-0.0420206,~+~-1.78527,~+~-0.280584,~+~-0.62353,~+~1.42597,~+~0.127994,~+~0.0751232,~+~0.896835,~+~-0.319488,~+~0.897876,~+~0.18457,~+~0.779571,~+~-0.0543194,~+~0.226722,~+~-0.769983,~+~-0.723463,~+~0.144386,~+~-0.468544,~+~-0.349417,~+~0.336786,~+~0.749212,~+~-1.62397,~+~0.683075,~+~-0.746449,~+~0.300921,~+~-0.365468,~+~0.548271,~+~1.13169,~+~-1.34042,~+~-0.0740572,~+~1.34986,~+~0.531771,~+~-0.147157,~+~0.824894,~+~-1.05816,~+~1.58867,~+~-0.885764,~+~1.11912,~+~0.361512,~+~1.77985,~+~0.585099,~+~-1.205,~+~2.44134,~+~-0.331372,~+~-0.346322,~+~0.0535267,~+~-1.75089,~+~0.0773243,~+~-1.07846,~+~-1.29632,~+~1.0622,~+~1.34867,~+~0.199777,~+~0.197516,~+~0.574185,~+~1.06555,~+~-0.885166,~+~-0.788576,~+~-1.46061,~+~-1.5402
>>
>> and then it hangs ? the full warning doesn?t complete printing, so it
is not clear what it is trying to warn about.  That represents 844 characters of
input script, but with the weird way that spaces have been replaced by ~+~ by
somebody, it is 1013 characters ? suspiciously close to 1024.
>>
>>  Note that if I simply make the R script shorter, by plotting 100 x/y
values instead of 500, everything works fine.  So there is no issue with the way
that I?m quoting strings or anything like that; the only issue seems to be the
total length of the command line.
>>
>>  Now of course I could break up the script into multiple chunks, passed
via separate -e arguments, and perhaps that would work somewhat better.  But
given that I want to set up a vector x with a single c() command containing all
of the data for x, I will still hit a line length limit; the single line of code
to set up x will already be over the maximum line length that Rscript allows for
a -e argument, apparently.  Getting around that would obviously be possible too,
but would be considerably more hassle.
>>
>>  And incidentally, this seems to have nothing to do with the /bin/sh
input line limit; that is much higher.  According to "getconf ARG_MAX?, it
is 262144 characters on my machine, which is more than enough headroom for what
I?m trying to do.
>>
>>  So my questions are: (1) is this a bug, (2) if so, do you think you
are likely to fix it any time soon :->, and (3) if the answer to that is no,
are there any standard workarounds for this sort of situation that you would
recommend?  I suppose I could write out the script to a file and then execute
that file with Rscript, since that seems to work; but I was really hoping to
avoid that extra complication and overhead.  Is there a better way?
>>
>>  Thanks for any help you can provide!  :->
>>
>> Cheers,
>> -B.
>>
>> Benjamin C. Haller
>> Messer Lab
>> Cornell University
>>
>> ______________________________________________
>> R-help at r-project.org mailing list -- To UNSUBSCRIBE and more, see
>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
>> PLEASE do read the posting guide
http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
>> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>
> Ben Tupper
> Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
> 60 Bigelow Drive, P.O. Box 380
> East Boothbay, Maine 04544
> http://www.bigelow.org
>
> ______________________________________________
> R-help at r-project.org mailing list -- To UNSUBSCRIBE and more, see
> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> PLEASE do read the posting guide
http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.