R devel - Aug 2007 - missing --vanilla option in INSTALL (PR#9877)

Full_Name: Vilmos Prokaj
Version: 2.5.1
OS: windows
Submission from: (NULL) (81.183.3.216)


I'm not sure that this is really a bug, if not I do not understand why
should it
be in this way.

Most of the scripts used to build and install new packages calls the R program
with the 
--slave --vanilla command line options. In the INSTALL script however we can
find the following lines


if($opt_library){
    # remove quotes around the library path
    $opt_library =~ s/^['"]//; $opt_library =~ s/['"]$//;
#'"
    chdir($opt_library) ||
	die "Error: cannot change to library directory \$opt_library'\n";
    $library = cwd();
    $library = Win32::GetShortPathName($library) if $library =~ / /;
    my $R_LIBS = $ENV{'R_LIBS'};
    $ENV{'R_LIBS'} = join(";", $library, $R_LIBS);
    chdir($startdir);
} else {
    my @out = R_runR("cat('\n~~~', .libPaths()[1], '\n',
sep = '')",
"--slave");
    foreach $f (@out) {
	if($f =~ /^~~~/) {
	    $library = $f;
	    $library =~ s/^~~~//;
	}
    }
    $library = Win32::GetShortPathName($library) if $library =~ / /;
    print "installing to '$library'\n";
}

I think that in the R_runR function there should be also a --vanilla option,
otherwise the process might be slow depending on the content of  .Rprofile
file.

The linenumber of the critical point is 132.

Sincerely yours 
  Vilmos Prokaj

This is as documented, and intentional.  From ?INSTALL

      If used as 'R CMD INSTALL pkgs' without explicitly specifying
      'lib', packages are installed into the library tree rooted at the
      first directory in the library path which would be used by R run
      in the current environment.

and to do that needs .Rprofile and .Renviron to be processed.

As the R FAQ says:

   If you aren't familiar with the command, or don't know for certain
how
   the command is supposed to work, then it might actually be working right.
   Rather than jumping to conclusions, show the problem to someone who
   knows for certain.


On Thu, 23 Aug 2007, prokaj at cs.elte.hu wrote:
> Full_Name: Vilmos Prokaj
> Version: 2.5.1
> OS: windows
> Submission from: (NULL) (81.183.3.216)
>
>
> I'm not sure that this is really a bug, if not I do not understand why 
> should it be in this way.
>
> Most of the scripts used to build and install new packages calls the R 
> program with the --slave --vanilla command line options.
I think you have shown far too little respect for the understanding of the 
R developers.
> In the INSTALL script however we can find the following lines
>
>
> if($opt_library){
>    # remove quotes around the library path
>    $opt_library =~ s/^['"]//; $opt_library =~ s/['"]$//;
#'"
>    chdir($opt_library) ||
> 	die "Error: cannot change to library directory
\$opt_library'\n";
>    $library = cwd();
>    $library = Win32::GetShortPathName($library) if $library =~ / /;
>    my $R_LIBS = $ENV{'R_LIBS'};
>    $ENV{'R_LIBS'} = join(";", $library, $R_LIBS);
>    chdir($startdir);
> } else {
>    my @out = R_runR("cat('\n~~~', .libPaths()[1],
'\n', sep = '')",
> "--slave");
>    foreach $f (@out) {
> 	if($f =~ /^~~~/) {
> 	    $library = $f;
> 	    $library =~ s/^~~~//;
> 	}
>    }
>    $library = Win32::GetShortPathName($library) if $library =~ / /;
>    print "installing to '$library'\n";
> }
>
> I think that in the R_runR function there should be also a --vanilla
option,
> otherwise the process might be slow depending on the content of  .Rprofile
> file.
>
> The linenumber of the critical point is 132.
>
> Sincerely yours
>  Vilmos Prokaj
>
> ______________________________________________
> R-devel at r-project.org mailing list
> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-devel
>
-- 
Brian D. Ripley,                  ripley at stats.ox.ac.uk
Professor of Applied Statistics,  http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~ripley/
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