R devel - Jul 2003 - Recommended way to change defaultPackages under Windows

What is the recommended way to change the default set of packages that
are loaded at startup by R for Windows?  I am writing vignettes for
the Devore6 package which my introductory engineering statistics
students will use and I would like to describe how the R environment
can be changed so that this package is loaded by default.

I understand from the R for Windows FAQ that one way would be to
install a Rprofile or Rprofile.site file containing

options(defaultPackages = c(options("defaultPackages"),
"Devore6"))

Would this be the recommended way?

On 28 Jul 2003, Douglas Bates wrote:
> What is the recommended way to change the default set of packages that
> are loaded at startup by R for Windows?  I am writing vignettes for
> the Devore6 package which my introductory engineering statistics
> students will use and I would like to describe how the R environment
> can be changed so that this package is loaded by default.
> 
> I understand from the R for Windows FAQ that one way would be to
> install a Rprofile or Rprofile.site file containing
> 
> options(defaultPackages = c(options("defaultPackages"),
"Devore6"))
> 
> Would this be the recommended way?
Yes, except that using Rprofile.site (can be called Rprofile) needs write
access to the R installation (or setting an environment file R_PROFILE),
and otherwise it is .Rprofile.

-- 
Brian D. Ripley,                  ripley@stats.ox.ac.uk
Professor of Applied Statistics,  http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~ripley/
University of Oxford,             Tel:  +44 1865 272861 (self)
1 South Parks Road,                     +44 1865 272866 (PA)
Oxford OX1 3TG, UK                Fax:  +44 1865 272595

Douglas Bates wrote:
> What is the recommended way to change the default set of packages that
> are loaded at startup by R for Windows?  I am writing vignettes for
> the Devore6 package which my introductory engineering statistics
> students will use and I would like to describe how the R environment
> can be changed so that this package is loaded by default.
> 
> I understand from the R for Windows FAQ that one way would be to
> install a Rprofile or Rprofile.site file containing
> 
> options(defaultPackages = c(options("defaultPackages"),
"Devore6"))
> 
> Would this be the recommended way?
Right (or use an environment variable). ?options tells us:

"defaultPackages:
the packages that are attached by default when R starts up. Initially 
set from value of the environment variables R_DefaultPackages, or if 
that is unset to c("methods", "ctest"). (Set
R_DEFAULT_PACKAGES to NULL
or a comma-separated list of package names.) A call to options should be 
in your `.Rprofile' file to ensure that the change takes effect before 
the base package is initialized (see Startup)."

But the user's .Rprofile might be more appropriate for students who 
don't have access to R's /etc directory likes in our department's 
configuration.

BTW: Is ?options completely correct?
I have   [1] "ts"      "nls"     "modreg" 
"mva"     "ctest"   "methods"
in my list of defaultPackages, not only "methods" and
"ctest". Looks
like an update is required. (talking about R-1.7.1 unpatched)

Uwe

Douglas Bates <bates@stat.wisc.edu> wrote:
> options(defaultPackages = c(options("defaultPackages"),
"Devore6"))
Just to pick a nit, shouldn't this be:

  options(defaultPackages = c(getOption("defaultPackages"),
"Devore6"))

since options("defaultPackages") returns a one-component list, not a
vector?
-- 
                              -- David Brahm (brahm@alum.mit.edu)