R help - Jan 1998 - R-beta: command-line editing not working in Debian Linux version

I get great flexibility with command-line editing through the
"readline"
library in the "bash" editor and the "ncftp" tool.  S-Plus
has this editing
and I see in the preliminary "Notes on R: A Programming Environment for
Data
Analysis and Graphics", page 65, that "R -e" might give this
functionality.
Typically, one can use either vi or emacs commands to go back through previous 
commands and edit the current command line.

I notice that the readline library is not compiled into the Debian Linux 
R.binary (ldd R.binary).  Perhaps this was an oversight, or perhaps 
command-line editing has yet to be added.

I notice that for vi editing style one ought to set (in "bash" shell)
     export S_CLEDITOR=vi
however, hopefully, the readline [not the S/R readline() function, but the 
readline library] file ~/.inputrc parameters would work to set "vi"
mode and
other readline parameters (if the readline library gives this command line 
functionality in R, that is).
	
	

-- 
Jim Burt, NJ9L,		Fairfax, Virginia, USA
jameson at mnsinc.com	http://www.mnsinc.com/jameson
jameson at pressroom.com

"It is not the shortcomings of others, nor what others have done or not
 done that one should think about, but what one has done or not done
oneself."
--Dhammapada   ["dp" command for quotes from the Dhammapada, in Linux]


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Jameson Burt <jameson at mnsinc.com> writes:
> I get great flexibility with command-line editing through the
"readline"
> library in the "bash" editor and the "ncftp" tool. 
S-Plus has this editing
> and I see in the preliminary "Notes on R: A Programming Environment
for Data
> Analysis and Graphics", page 65, that "R -e" might give this
functionality.
> Typically, one can use either vi or emacs commands to go back through
previous
> commands and edit the current command line.
> 
> I notice that the readline library is not compiled into the Debian Linux 
> R.binary (ldd R.binary).  Perhaps this was an oversight, or perhaps 
> command-line editing has yet to be added.
> 
> I notice that for vi editing style one ought to set (in "bash"
shell)
>      export S_CLEDITOR=vi
> however, hopefully, the readline [not the S/R readline() function, but the 
> readline library] file ~/.inputrc parameters would work to set
"vi" mode and
> other readline parameters (if the readline library gives this command line 
> functionality in R, that is).
Which version of the Debian Linux package are you using?  The 0.61.1-2
version for Debian-2.0 was accidently compiled without readline
support.  I will compile and upload a new version.

As far as I can see, the Debian-1.3 versions should have readline
support.  Please tell me if that doesn't work.

If you are an emacs user, you should consider using ESS (Emacs Speaks
Statistics) instead.  This emacs mode allows you to run R under emacs
and provides more powerful editing and command recall than does using
readline.
-- 
Douglas Bates                            bates at stat.wisc.edu
Statistics Department                    608/262-2598
University of Wisconsin - Madison        http://www.stat.wisc.edu/~bates/
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