With all due respect, Duncan, I can't find the message advising against using the Cygwin port. I did find a message about the mishandling of line endings, and I've asked on the cygwin forum (as advised). As I mentioned, I'm in an environment where updates are not possible, and I'm clarifying now that this means installations are even more impossible, at least not without extensive adminstrative delay. Basically, this is what I have to work with. If anyone can suggest good ideas for the challenges as-is, that would be much appreciated. However, given your posts, I fully understand if the answer is "no". On the other hand, simply demanding a solution consisting of a course of action which is impossible at present...well, it's just impossible. Having said that, I'll just say that I've managed to exort the powers that be to install a Windows based version of R, but I have to work with what I currently have for at least a week. I should also mention that I've submitted an update to the mailing list on a workaround for the R help problem on cygwin. It might not have propagated to recipients yet. I appreciate the further info on the extent of the bugginess of the cygwin port. On Fri, Apr 17, 2015 at 9:04 PM, Duncan Murdoch <murdoch.duncan at gmail.com> wrote:>On 16/04/2015 5:02 PM, paul wrote: >> The help for the cygwin port of R is buggy and hides random lines >> of text. > > You've already been told not to use the Cygwin port. It's buggy in > the help pages, and probably in many other respects as well. It > doesn't pass the R self-tests. Don't use it. > >> Consquently, I've been relying on Google, but it is often not >> clear how directly relevant the info is for the specific command >> that I'm using. For example, reshape is complicated, and has more >> than 1 version. >> >> Is there an online version of the help pages? >> >> I tried looking for html versions of the help pages by ferruting >> through the R.home() subtree. Haven't found them so far. There >> are package pages in subdirectories <package>/html/00Index.html, >> but they just contain links to html files that don't reside in my >> R.home() subtree. There are also subdirectories <package>/help, >> but they contain pages that I don't recognize (*.rds, *.rdb, >> *.rdx). >> >> Getting desparate here, and realizing how the web is not in any way >> a substituted for locally available help pages that you can be >> confident is right for your installation.
I am not sure how helpful this is going to be but Appendix C7 in the Installation and Administration manual is pretty bleak about your prospects with Cygwin. On 18/04/2015 02:17, Paul Domaskis wrote:> With all due respect, Duncan, I can't find the message advising > against using the Cygwin port. I did find a message about the > mishandling of line endings, and I've asked on the cygwin forum > (as advised). > As I mentioned, I'm in an environment where updates are not possible, > and I'm clarifying now that this means installations are even more > impossible, at least not without extensive adminstrative delay. > Basically, this is what I have to work with. If anyone can suggest > good ideas for the challenges as-is, that would be much appreciated. > However, given your posts, I fully understand if the answer is "no". > On the other hand, simply demanding a solution consisting of a course > of action which is impossible at present...well, it's just impossible. > Having said that, I'll just say that I've managed to exort the powers > that be to install a Windows based version of R, but I have to work > with what I currently have for at least a week. I should also mention > that I've submitted an update to the mailing list on a workaround for > the R help problem on cygwin. It might not have propagated to > recipients yet. > I appreciate the further info on the extent of the bugginess of the > cygwin port. > On Fri, Apr 17, 2015 at 9:04 PM, Duncan Murdoch > <murdoch.duncan at gmail.com> wrote: >> On 16/04/2015 5:02 PM, paul wrote: >>> The help for the cygwin port of R is buggy and hides random lines >>> of text. >> >> You've already been told not to use the Cygwin port. It's buggy in >> the help pages, and probably in many other respects as well. It >> doesn't pass the R self-tests. Don't use it. >> >>> Consquently, I've been relying on Google, but it is often not >>> clear how directly relevant the info is for the specific command >>> that I'm using. For example, reshape is complicated, and has more >>> than 1 version. >>> >>> Is there an online version of the help pages? >>> >>> I tried looking for html versions of the help pages by ferruting >>> through the R.home() subtree. Haven't found them so far. There >>> are package pages in subdirectories <package>/html/00Index.html, >>> but they just contain links to html files that don't reside in my >>> R.home() subtree. There are also subdirectories <package>/help, >>> but they contain pages that I don't recognize (*.rds, *.rdb, >>> *.rdx). >>> >>> Getting desparate here, and realizing how the web is not in any way >>> a substituted for locally available help pages that you can be >>> confident is right for your installation. > > ______________________________________________ > R-help at r-project.org mailing list -- To UNSUBSCRIBE and more, see > https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help > PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html > and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code. >-- Michael http://www.dewey.myzen.co.uk/home.html
Acknowledged, Michael. I appreciate the pointer to the info. For at least a short while, however, this is my only access to R, so I am using this environment to ramp up on times series and R as much a possible. I think it should suffice for that purpose, and the real analysis can occur in a more reliable installation R. I've managed to work the ropes on a better installation, but the solution won't be immediate. Michael Dewey <lists <at> dewey.myzen.co.uk> writes: | I am not sure how helpful this is going to be but Appendix C7 in the | Installation and Administration manual is pretty bleak about your | prospects with Cygwin. | |On 18/04/2015 02:17, Paul Domaskis wrote: |> With all due respect, Duncan, I can't find the message advising |> against using the Cygwin port. I did find a message about the |> mishandling of line endings, and I've asked on the cygwin forum (as |> advised). |> |> As I mentioned, I'm in an environment where updates are not |> possible, and I'm clarifying now that this means installations are |> even more impossible, at least not without extensive adminstrative |> delay. Basically, this is what I have to work with. If anyone can |> suggest good ideas for the challenges as-is, that would be much |> appreciated. However, given your posts, I fully understand if the |> answer is "no". On the other hand, simply demanding a solution |> consisting of a course of action which is impossible at |> present...well, it's just impossible. Having said that, I'll just |> say that I've managed to exort the powers that be to install a |> Windows based version of R, but I have to work with what I |> currently have for at least a week. I should also mention that |> I've submitted an update to the mailing list on a workaround for |> the R help problem on cygwin. It might not have propagated to |> recipients yet. |> |> I appreciate the further info on the extent of the bugginess of the |> cygwin port. |> |> On Fri, Apr 17, 2015 at 9:04 PM, Duncan Murdoch |><murdoch.duncan <at> gmail.com> wrote: |>>On 16/04/2015 5:02 PM, paul wrote: |>>> The help for the cygwin port of R is buggy and hides random lines |>>> of text. |>> |>> You've already been told not to use the Cygwin port. It's buggy |>> in the help pages, and probably in many other respects as well. |>> It doesn't pass the R self-tests. Don't use it. |>> |>>> Consquently, I've been relying on Google, but it is often not |>>> clear how directly relevant the info is for the specific |>>> command that I'm using. For example, reshape is complicated, |>>> and has more than 1 version. |>>> |>>> Is there an online version of the help pages? |>>> |>>> I tried looking for html versions of the help pages by ferruting |>>> through the R.home() subtree. Haven't found them so far. There |>>> are package pages in subdirectories <package>/html/00Index.html, |>>> but they just contain links to html files that don't reside in my |>>> R.home() subtree. There are also subdirectories <package>/help, |>>> but they contain pages that I don't recognize (*.rds, *.rdb, |>>> *.rdx). |>>> |>>> Getting desparate here, and realizing how the web is not in any |>>> way a substituted for locally available help pages that you can |>>> be confident is right for your installation.