R SIG Debian - Jan 2019 - Installing Rstudio and shiny free server on Debian

Thanks Dirk,

I wonder if I'm hitting problems you're not seeing not only because of
running stretch/stable but also because of running the i386 version.  I suspect
most people are on 64 bit systems now.

Anyway, I have managed to install Rstudio OK by going up to stretch-cran35. 
Rstudio wouldn't install from there:

root at Toshiba-L750-Stretchi386:/etc/apt# apt-get install rstudio
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
Package rstudio is not available, but is referred to by another package.
This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
is only available from another source

E: Package 'rstudio' has no installation candidate

But pulling the i386 deb from
https://download2.rstudio.org/rstudio-server-1.1.463-i386.deb got me the
complaint about libgstreamer:

root at Toshiba-L750-Stretchi386:/home/chris/Downloads# gdebi
rstudio-1.1.463-i386.deb
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree        
Reading state information... Done
Reading state information... Done
This package is uninstallable
Dependency is not satisfiable: libgstreamer0.10-0

But I then found
https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/277238/is-it-possible-to-install-both-gstreamer-0-10-and-gstreamer-1-0-at-the-same-time
and followed the advice there:

"I managed to get processing-video 2.2.1 to work, installing the
corresponding Debian Jessie .deb files downloaded via https://pkgs.org:
    gstreamer-0.10-gconf
    gstreamer-0.10-plugins-base
    libgstreamer0.10-0
    libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-0"

I pulled down those last two, installed them with dpkg -i, and now Rstudio has
installed from the Rstudio deb I had pulled down and, on a cursory check, it
seems to work fine.

The rstudio-server-1.1.463-i386.deb also says it's installed but is, not to
my surprise, giving error messages rather than starting up:

root at Toshiba-L750-Stretchi386:/home/chris/Downloads# dpkg -i
rstudio-server-1.1.463-i386.deb
Selecting previously unselected package rstudio-server.
(Reading database ... 174017 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack rstudio-server-1.1.463-i386.deb ...
Unpacking rstudio-server (1.1.463) ...
Setting up rstudio-server (1.1.463) ...
groupadd: group 'rstudio-server' already exists
rsession: no process found
Created symlink
/etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/rstudio-server.service ?
/etc/systemd/system/rstudio-server.service.
Job for rstudio-server.service failed because the control process exited with
error code.
See "systemctl status rstudio-server.service" and "journalctl
-xe" for details.
? rstudio-server.service - RStudio Server
   Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/rstudio-server.service; enabled; vendor
preset: enabled)
   Active: activating (auto-restart) (Result: exit-code) since Sat 2019-01-12
19:54:34 GMT; 29ms ago
  Process: 4107 ExecStart=/usr/lib/rstudio-server/bin/rserver (code=exited,
status=127)

Jan 12 19:54:34 Toshiba-L750-Stretchi386 systemd[1]: Failed to start RStudio
Server.
Jan 12 19:54:34 Toshiba-L750-Stretchi386 systemd[1]: rstudio-server.service:
Unit entered failed state.
Jan 12 19:54:34 Toshiba-L750-Stretchi386 systemd[1]: rstudio-server.service:
Failed with result 'exit-code'.


I will do some more sleuthing around to see if I can get beyond that but from
what I'm seeing in https://www.rstudio.com/products/rstudio/download-server/
I may be at a dead end here as I think the deb that I am trying to install there
is the one for Debian 8 and it looks as if they've only rolled a deb for
amd64 for Debian "9+"

Last question, to everyone, for tonight:

Has anyone been able to download and install the server on a 64bit Debian
stretch system?

TIA,

Chris

----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dirk Eddelbuettel" <edd at debian.org>
> To: "Chris Evans" <chrishold at psyctc.org>
> Cc: "r-sig-debian" <r-sig-debian at r-project.org>
> Sent: Saturday, 12 January, 2019 14:58:10
> Subject: Re: [R-sig-Debian] Installing Rstudio and shiny free server on
Debian
> Chris,
> 
> I fear you may be overcomplicating things.  RStudio tends to just work; the
> .deb files are also large and "mostly self-contained" -- so that
generally
> only require one or two other packages you should find without trouble.  Of
> course I cannot fully speak to your experience as I do not run Debian
stable
> (mostly current Debian (ie "testing") or Ubuntu (ie now 18.10)
for me), as
> well as Docker rather than VMs.
> 
> The README at the RStudio site also tends to cover what you need. And no, I
> don't think I know a single person who'd recommend compiling from
source.
> 
> So I would say just try it and if something comes up come back here, and we
> will try to help. Lastly, recall that installations of packages should be
> fully reversible (unless you do unspeakable things).  So if for whatever
> reason the .deb does not install, no harm done.
> 
> Dirk
> 
> --
> http://dirk.eddelbuettel.com | @eddelbuettel | edd at debian.org
-- 
Chris Evans <chris at psyctc.org> Skype: chris-psyctc
Visiting Professor, University of Sheffield <chris.evans at
sheffield.ac.uk>
I do some consultation work for the University of Roehampton <chris.evans at
roehampton.ac.uk> and other places but this <chris at psyctc.org>
remains my main Email address.
I have "semigrated" to France, see:
https://www.psyctc.org/pelerinage2016/semigrating-to-france/ if you want to book
to talk, I am trying to keep that to Thursdays and my diary is now available at:
https://www.psyctc.org/pelerinage2016/ecwd_calendar/calendar/
Beware: French time, generally an hour ahead of UK.  That page will also take
you to my blog which started with earlier joys in France and Spain!

On 12 January 2019 at 20:30, Chris Evans wrote:
| I wonder if I'm hitting problems you're not seeing not only because of
running stretch/stable but also because of running the i386 version.  I suspect
most people are on 64 bit systems now.

Cannot speak to i386. I gave up on it relatively late given that I always had
lower-memory laptops.  It may be time to let that one go.

I can only speak to amd64. Which works *great* and very reliably.
 
| root at Toshiba-L750-Stretchi386:/etc/apt# apt-get install rstudio

Your thinko. I have known JJ for nearly ten years, and I have complained
nearly all that time that they need an apt-get'able repo.

Which they don't have, so you read the instructions wrong. Download, then
'sudo dpkg -i' (or do 'sudo gdebi ...' per their instructions).

| Has anyone been able to download and install the server on a 64bit Debian
stretch system?

Easily by manual downloads first.

Dirk

-- 
http://dirk.eddelbuettel.com | @eddelbuettel | edd at debian.org

----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dirk Eddelbuettel" <edd at debian.org>
> To: "Chris Evans" <chrishold at psyctc.org>
> Cc: "r-sig-debian" <r-sig-debian at r-project.org>
> Sent: Saturday, 12 January, 2019 21:23:46
> Subject: Re: [R-sig-Debian] Installing Rstudio and shiny free server on
Debian
> On 12 January 2019 at 20:30, Chris Evans wrote:
>| I wonder if I'm hitting problems you're not seeing not only
because of running
>| stretch/stable but also because of running the i386 version.  I suspect
most
>| people are on 64 bit systems now.
> 
> Cannot speak to i386. I gave up on it relatively late given that I always
had
> lower-memory laptops.  It may be time to let that one go.
Yes!  Surreal oddity of the Toshiba that it won't accept amd64 of either
Debian or Ubuntu.  I never liked it and I don't think they have a great
record of sympathy with FLOSS.  I'll find another machine that will take
amd64 and relegate this to a curiosity, or recycle it!
 
> I can only speak to amd64. Which works *great* and very reliably.
I had assumed so and believe you completely.  Always been true on my various www
server machines over the years, i386 and then, latterly, amd64.  I was working
with R, Emacs and ESS on those though, not Rstudio.  Now do almost all my R work
through Rstudio and, sadly, for now, on Windoze laptops.  About to try to change
that, but that's another story!
 
>| root at Toshiba-L750-Stretchi386:/etc/apt# apt-get install rstudio
> 
> Your thinko. 
Dont' understand "thinko"!
> I have known JJ 
Nor do I understand "JJ"!
> for nearly ten years, and I have complained
> nearly all that time that they need an apt-get'able repo.
If you mean Rstudio.com, for Rstudio and the free server then I agree completely
and it seems daft they don't, particularly as they offer a CRAN mirror.  (If
I understand your "JJ" correctly.)
> Which they don't have, so you read the instructions wrong. Download,
then
> 'sudo dpkg -i' (or do 'sudo gdebi ...' per their
instructions).
I had downloaded, and I was in a root session, hence no "sudo".  I
think that's OK (though I know some people, Knoppixers particularly, think
people like me who still use "su" and open root sessions are dark
shapeshifters who should be burned at the stake!)
 
>| Has anyone been able to download and install the server on a 64bit Debian
>| stretch system?
> 
> Easily by manual downloads first.
Great.  Now to find an old machine that _will_ host amd64 stretch and follow
your example!  Then on to the actual server!!

Many thanks again,

Chris
 
> Dirk
> 
> --
> http://dirk.eddelbuettel.com | @eddelbuettel | edd at debian.org
-- 
Chris Evans <chris at psyctc.org> Skype: chris-psyctc
Visiting Professor, University of Sheffield <chris.evans at
sheffield.ac.uk>
I do some consultation work for the University of Roehampton <chris.evans at
roehampton.ac.uk> and other places but this <chris at psyctc.org>
remains my main Email address.
I have "semigrated" to France, see:
https://www.psyctc.org/pelerinage2016/semigrating-to-france/ if you want to book
to talk, I am trying to keep that to Thursdays and my diary is now available at:
https://www.psyctc.org/pelerinage2016/ecwd_calendar/calendar/
Beware: French time, generally an hour ahead of UK.  That page will also take
you to my blog which started with earlier joys in France and Spain!