R devel - May 2008 - R-2.8.0 : get platform device with get(getOption("device"))

Hi,

I have a R-package that works fine with R 2.7.0 (it builds, checks and
installs) but not with R 2.8.0.
Running check in 2.8.0 gives the following output :
[...]
* checking examples ... ERROR
[...]
The error most likely occurred in:
[...]
> dev <- show.pr(mr.tbl, col="green", type="b")
Error in get(getOption("device")) : invalid first argument
Calls: show.pr -> get
Execution halted

How can I change this code so that it works fine with R 2.8.0?

Thanks!

	[[alternative HTML version deleted]]

Please do study the posting guide.  This was covered recently:

https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/2008-April/049319.html


On Wed, 7 May 2008, Fr?d?ric Lafitte wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have a R-package that works fine with R 2.7.0 (it builds, checks and
> installs) but not with R 2.8.0.
There is no 'R 2.8.0' and will not be for some months.  You probably
mean
R-devel, but your code has been erroneous since R 2.5.0.
> Running check in 2.8.0 gives the following output :
> [...]
> * checking examples ... ERROR
> [...]
> The error most likely occurred in:
> [...]
>> dev <- show.pr(mr.tbl, col="green", type="b")
> Error in get(getOption("device")) : invalid first argument
> Calls: show.pr -> get
> Execution halted
>
> How can I change this code so that it works fine with R 2.8.0?
>
> Thanks!
>
> 	[[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>
> ______________________________________________
> 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/
University of Oxford,             Tel:  +44 1865 272861 (self)
1 South Parks Road,                     +44 1865 272866 (PA)
Oxford OX1 3TG, UK                Fax:  +44 1865 272595

Fr?d?ric Lafitte wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have a R-package that works fine with R 2.7.0 (it builds, checks and
> installs) but not with R 2.8.0.
> Running check in 2.8.0 gives the following output :
> [...]
> * checking examples ... ERROR
> [...]
> The error most likely occurred in:
> [...]
>   
>> dev <- show.pr(mr.tbl, col="green", type="b")
>>     
> Error in get(getOption("device")) : invalid first argument
> Calls: show.pr -> get
> Execution halted
>
> How can I change this code so that it works fine with R 2.8.0?
>
>   
Use dev.new() instead of  that construct.


-- 
   O__  ---- Peter Dalgaard             ?ster Farimagsgade 5, Entr.B
  c/ /'_ --- Dept. of Biostatistics     PO Box 2099, 1014 Cph. K
 (*) \(*) -- University of Copenhagen   Denmark      Ph:  (+45) 35327918
~~~~~~~~~~ - (p.dalgaard at biostat.ku.dk)              FAX: (+45) 35327907

If you set, say

options(device="pdf")

you get the old behaviour.  You really cannot assume that session settings 
will be unchanged unless you set them yourself.

On Fri, 9 May 2008, Paul Roebuck wrote:
> On Thu, 8 May 2008, Peter Dalgaard wrote:
>
>> Prof Brian Ripley wrote:
>>> Here is the NEWS item, for 2.5.0
>>>
>>>     o    options(device = ) now accepts a function object as well
as
>>>     the name of a function.
>>>
>>> The construct in the subject line has been broken ever since.
>
> Yet the change produced no warnings when made, so apparently
> everyone else missed it!
It did, if you set that option.
>> OK, but that entry was obviously hard to spot even when looking for it!
>>>
>>> On Thu, 8 May 2008, Peter Dalgaard wrote:
>>>
>>>> Prof Brian Ripley wrote:
>>>>> Please do study the posting guide.  This was covered
recently:
>>>>>
>>>>>
https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/2008-April/049319.html
>>>> Nevertheless, perhaps an explicit NEWS entry could be
warranted,
>>>> something like
>>>>
>>>>  o    The "device" option can now be a function, and
is one in some
>>>> standard setups. Consequentially,
get(getOption("device")) will fail;
>>>> programmers should usually use dev.new() instead.
>>>>
>> So...
>>
>> o    The "device" option now is a function in some standard
setups.
>> Consequentially, get(getOption("device")) will fail;
programmers should
>> usually use dev.new() instead. (Assuming that the device is a character
>> string has been incorrect since 2.5.0.)
>>
>
> Prof Brian Ripley noted [in another recent message] that
> it was also wrong to assume ANY arguments for dev.new
> method. If we are only concerned with interactive screen
> devices (i.e., x11, windows, quartz), would it be safe to
> come up with a method that can take basic dimension arguments
> (width & height)? Suggestions for an R-Core approved method
> of doing so?
>
> We use this functionality every day for creating multiple
> onscreen windows with specified dimensions.
>
> While I understand things have to change to evolve the
> codebase, this change broke the code supporting countless
> papers and analyses here in our department, without warning
> until now.
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> SIGSIG -- signature too long (core dumped)
>
> ______________________________________________
> 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/
University of Oxford,             Tel:  +44 1865 272861 (self)
1 South Parks Road,                     +44 1865 272866 (PA)
Oxford OX1 3TG, UK                Fax:  +44 1865 272595