R help - Jan 2003 - update.packages through proxy failing

Hi all,

my uni has recently switched to using a proxy (with password) for accessing
Web pages outside the uni. I have since found that "update packages"
etc no
longer seem to work from R.

I have tried to fix this problem in two ways:-

1) renaming internet2.dll to internet.dll in the "Modeules" folder and
proceeding as usual. When I tried "update packages" from the menu in
R, I
got an "Rgui.exe has prodeced errors and is generating an error log"
message
and crash.

2) I used the following code

 print(Sys.putenv("HTTP_PROXY"="http://www.flinders.edu.au/proxy.pac/",
password="mypassword"))
[1] TRUE TRUE
> Sys.getenv("HTTP_PROXY")
                             HTTP_PROXY
"http://www.flinders.edu.au/proxy.pac/"
> update.packages()
trying URL `http://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/contrib/PACKAGES'
unable to connect to 'cran.r-project.org'.
Error in download.file(url = paste(contriburl, "PACKAGES", sep =
"/"),  :
        cannot open URL
`http://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/contrib/PACKAGES'


I am using R1.6.1 for Windows under Win2000 Professional and Internet
Explorer 6.0.

Any help gratefully appreciated,
Duncan

*******************************************
Dr. Duncan Mackay
Biology
Flinders University
GPO Box 2100
Adelaide
S.A.    5001
AUSTRALIA

Ph (08) 8201 2627    FAX (08) 8201 3015

http://www.bio.flinders.edu.au/dam/damres.htm

On Wed, 8 Jan 2003, Duncan Mackay wrote:
> my uni has recently switched to using a proxy (with password) for accessing
> Web pages outside the uni. I have since found that "update
packages" etc no
> longer seem to work from R.
>
> I have tried to fix this problem in two ways:-
>
> 1) renaming internet2.dll to internet.dll in the "Modeules"
folder and
> proceeding as usual. When I tried "update packages" from the menu
in R, I
> got an "Rgui.exe has prodeced errors and is generating an error
log" message
> and crash.
No wonder.  Try looking *carefully* at the CHANGES file, undoing the
criminal damage you caused and using the --internet2.dll flag.

Or just read ?download.file (linked from ?update.packages).
> 2) I used the following code
>
> 
print(Sys.putenv("HTTP_PROXY"="http://www.flinders.edu.au/proxy.pac/",
> password="mypassword"))
> [1] TRUE TRUE
> > Sys.getenv("HTTP_PROXY")
>                              HTTP_PROXY
> "http://www.flinders.edu.au/proxy.pac/"
> > update.packages()
> trying URL `http://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/contrib/PACKAGES'
> unable to connect to 'cran.r-project.org'.
> Error in download.file(url = paste(contriburl, "PACKAGES", sep =
"/"),  :
>         cannot open URL
> `http://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/contrib/PACKAGES'
You've already damaged your system, *and* the help page says you cannot
set the variables that way!  And it also says that is not the format for
proxies.
> Any help gratefully appreciated,
Read and follow the instructions?  I do suggest you reinstall R, then
use the --internet2 flag *as documented*.

-- 
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