R help - May 2001 - windows nt/access other directories/ attach/system

Colleagues

----------------------------------
System info:
R version rw1022 on NT
ESS v. 5.1.18 using emacs ver. 20.4

----------------------------------
As recommended, I keep separate directories for projects, but also use 
separate sub-directories for types of data (e.g. different oceanographic 
instruments) within projects. 

My problem is that I often need to access the objects and data (not 
stored as objects) in more than one directory.

I understand (mistakenly?) that at present you cannot use attach() with 
directories, just with objects and packages. Also I think 
system("command") is for the UNIX environment. System("cd
..") gives
me an error under Windows NT. Obviously it is inconvenient to quit R and 
restart in the other directory, and messy to combine the "instrument sub-
directories" into a giant "project directory".

Do you have a suggestion of how to proceed, other than keeping my 
data as objects (I generally prefer to keep my data as text files so I can 
access them with Matlab when I need to).

Help will be appreciated.
Thanks

Sam

Sam McClatchie, Research scientist (fisheries acoustics))))))))))
NIWA (National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd)
PO Box 14 901, Kilbirnie, Wellington, New Zealand
s.mcclatchie at niwa.cri.nz 

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On Fri, 1 Jun 2001, S.McClatchie wrote:
> As recommended, I keep separate directories for projects, but also use
> separate sub-directories for types of data (e.g. different oceanographic
> instruments) within projects.
>
> My problem is that I often need to access the objects and data (not
> stored as objects) in more than one directory.
>
> I understand (mistakenly?) that at present you cannot use attach() with
> directories, just with objects and packages. Also I think
> system("command") is for the UNIX environment. System("cd
..") gives
> me an error under Windows NT.
system() does work under Windows, but system("cd ..") wouldn't
change the
working directory even under Unix. setwd() is for changing directories.

	-thomas

Thomas Lumley			Asst. Professor, Biostatistics
tlumley at u.washington.edu	University of Washington, Seattle

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On Fri, 1 Jun 2001, S.McClatchie wrote:
> Colleagues
>
> ----------------------------------
> System info:
> R version rw1022 on NT
> ESS v. 5.1.18 using emacs ver. 20.4
>
> ----------------------------------
> As recommended, I keep separate directories for projects, but also use
> separate sub-directories for types of data (e.g. different oceanographic
> instruments) within projects.
>
> My problem is that I often need to access the objects and data (not
> stored as objects) in more than one directory.
>
> I understand (mistakenly?) that at present you cannot use attach() with
> directories, just with objects and packages. Also I think
attach only concerns the search path for objects.
> system("command") is for the UNIX environment. System("cd
..") gives
> me an error under Windows NT. Obviously it is inconvenient to quit R and
False.  system() is also under NT, and if cd is in your path under NT it
works.  It just doesn't (NT or Unix) change directory for the R process.
> restart in the other directory, and messy to combine the "instrument
sub-
> directories" into a giant "project directory".
>
> Do you have a suggestion of how to proceed, other than keeping my
> data as objects (I generally prefer to keep my data as text files so I can
> access them with Matlab when I need to).
Try help(setwd).  Or use the File | Change dir menu item on Rgui.
> help.search("directory")
Help files with alias or title matching `directory':
Type `?FOO' to inspect entry `FOO(PKG) TITLE'.

getwd(base)        Get or Set Working Directory
list.files(base)   List the Files in a Directory/Folder
R.home(base)       Return the R Home Directory
RHOME(base)        R Home Directory

might have been helpful.


-- 
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 272860 (secr)
Oxford OX1 3TG, UK                Fax:  +44 1865 272595

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