R SIG Debian - Jul 2021 - Converting R package to Debian package

Dear all,

I am on a Debian buster system. I am a beginner to Debian packaging.

Here is my workflow for converting an R package which I call mypackage
into a Debian package:

1. I take an R package, say mypackage_2.1.tar.gz
2. I create it's copy as mypackage_2.1.orig.tar.gz
3. Then I untar the original tarball and create the mypackage directory.
[ I have installed dh-r helper function like this : sudo apt install dh-r ]
4. I goto the mypackage directory and do: dh-make-R
in order to create the debian directory.
5. Then I modify debian/control ( to make Source / Package entries
from: r-cran-mypackage into mypackage ) and similarly change
r-cran-mypackage into mypackage in debian/changelog (where I updated
the message to "Initial release").
6. Then from the mypackage directory I do : debuild

The above workflow FAILS with this error:

dpkg-checkbuilddeps: error: Unmet build dependencies: r-cran-dbi
r-cran-rsqlite r-cran-xts r-cran-zoo r-cran-foreach r-cran-domc

But when I check like this,it says the dependencies are THERE:

$ apt-cache show r-cran-dbi
Package: r-cran-dbi
Source: dbi
Version: 1.0.0-2
Installed-Size: 1931
Maintainer: Dirk Eddelbuettel <edd at debian.org>
Architecture: all
Depends: r-base-core (>= 3.5.0-3), r-api-3.5
Suggests: r-cran-rmysql
Description-en: GNU R package providing a generic database interface
 A generic database interface (DBI) definition for communication
 between R and relational database management systems -- similar to
 Perl's DBI system.  All classes in this package are virtual and need
 to be extended by the various R/DBMS implementations as e.g. RMySQL.
Description-md5: dc00e91ab4b239de079502722ee124b8
Homepage: https://cran.r-project.org/package=DBI
Tag: devel::lang:r, devel::library, field::statistics, implemented-in::r,
 role::app-data, suite::gnu, works-with::db
Section: gnu-r
Priority: optional
Filename: pool/main/d/dbi/r-cran-dbi_1.0.0-2_all.deb
Size: 788848
MD5sum: 82a1102a8f6b315b4cbce30edbdb9ed8
SHA256: 704d743feca0a028da369342fd5b0891758952877185b463db289b45f32c9c0e

When I do :

debuild -d

it does not check the dependencies and creates the package.

I have 2 queries though:

1. Why does it say unmet build dependencies when I know for sure that
the dependencies are present.
2. My second query is that : is there a way that instead of checking
for say : r-cran-dbi it checks that the corresponding DBI package is
installed inside R but perhaps by using the incantation
install.packages("DBI") and not from the r-cran-dbi Debian package?

Can someone please help me ?

Many thanks and Best Regards,
Ashim

Hi Ashim,

Sorry, I must have missed this while traveling.

On 7 July 2021 at 11:42, Ashim Kapoor wrote:
| Dear all,
| 
| I am on a Debian buster system. I am a beginner to Debian packaging.
| 
| Here is my workflow for converting an R package which I call mypackage
| into a Debian package:
| 
| 1. I take an R package, say mypackage_2.1.tar.gz
| 2. I create it's copy as mypackage_2.1.orig.tar.gz
| 3. Then I untar the original tarball and create the mypackage directory.
| [ I have installed dh-r helper function like this : sudo apt install dh-r ]
| 4. I goto the mypackage directory and do: dh-make-R
| in order to create the debian directory.
| 5. Then I modify debian/control ( to make Source / Package entries
| from: r-cran-mypackage into mypackage ) and similarly change
| r-cran-mypackage into mypackage in debian/changelog (where I updated
| the message to "Initial release").
| 6. Then from the mypackage directory I do : debuild
| 
| The above workflow FAILS with this error:
| 
| dpkg-checkbuilddeps: error: Unmet build dependencies: r-cran-dbi
| r-cran-rsqlite r-cran-xts r-cran-zoo r-cran-foreach r-cran-domc

That may mean they need to be in the minimal 'chroot' environment in
which
the package is built, which you ensure via debian/control and the
Build-Depends field.

Or it may mean that dpkg-checkbuilddeps checks against your current system.

| But when I check like this,it says the dependencies are THERE:
|
| $ apt-cache show r-cran-dbi

That tests your outer system / what is known in the _entire distribution_
which is very different from the build-a-package clean room.

| Package: r-cran-dbi
| Source: dbi
| Version: 1.0.0-2
| Installed-Size: 1931
| Maintainer: Dirk Eddelbuettel <edd at debian.org>
| Architecture: all
| Depends: r-base-core (>= 3.5.0-3), r-api-3.5
| Suggests: r-cran-rmysql
| Description-en: GNU R package providing a generic database interface
|  A generic database interface (DBI) definition for communication
|  between R and relational database management systems -- similar to
|  Perl's DBI system.  All classes in this package are virtual and need
|  to be extended by the various R/DBMS implementations as e.g. RMySQL.
| Description-md5: dc00e91ab4b239de079502722ee124b8
| Homepage: https://cran.r-project.org/package=DBI
| Tag: devel::lang:r, devel::library, field::statistics, implemented-in::r,
|  role::app-data, suite::gnu, works-with::db
| Section: gnu-r
| Priority: optional
| Filename: pool/main/d/dbi/r-cran-dbi_1.0.0-2_all.deb
| Size: 788848
| MD5sum: 82a1102a8f6b315b4cbce30edbdb9ed8
| SHA256: 704d743feca0a028da369342fd5b0891758952877185b463db289b45f32c9c0e
| 
| When I do :
| 
| debuild -d
| 
| it does not check the dependencies and creates the package.

That is all that matters :)
 
| I have 2 queries though:
| 
| 1. Why does it say unmet build dependencies when I know for sure that
| the dependencies are present.

See above.

| 2. My second query is that : is there a way that instead of checking
| for say : r-cran-dbi it checks that the corresponding DBI package is
| installed inside R but perhaps by using the incantation
| install.packages("DBI") and not from the r-cran-dbi Debian package?

I do not understand the question. Can you rephrase it?

| Can someone please help me ?

I'll try.

Dirk
 
| Many thanks and Best Regards,
| Ashim
| 
| _______________________________________________
| R-SIG-Debian mailing list
| R-SIG-Debian at r-project.org
| https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-sig-debian

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