R SIG Debian - May 2022 - Installing R 4.1.2 doesn't work as it did a week ago

I have a docker file for installing R on Ubuntu 18.04, and as of last week
it is failing. I think it seems to be related to the recent release of R
4.2.0. I want to install R 4.1.2, but when I use the below command and then
check the R version, it comes out as 4.2.0. Do you know why this is
happening?

RUN apt-get update \
    && apt-get install -y gnupg2 software-properties-common \
    && apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys
E298A3A825C0D65DFD57CBB651716619E084DAB9 \
    && add-apt-repository 'deb
https://cloud.r-project.org/bin/linux/ubuntu
bionic-cran40/' \
    && apt-get update \
    && apt-get install -y \
           r-base=4.1.2-* \
           r-recommended=4.1.2-*

If I just install r-base-core=4.1.2-* it seems to install the correct
version of R.

Chad Young
Bioinformatics Scientist
TwinStrand Biosciences <https://twinstrandbio.com/>

	[[alternative HTML version deleted]]

On 2 May 2022 at 13:52, Chad Young wrote:
| I have a docker file for installing R on Ubuntu 18.04, and as of last week
| it is failing. I think it seems to be related to the recent release of R
| 4.2.0. I want to install R 4.1.2, but when I use the below command and then
| check the R version, it comes out as 4.2.0. Do you know why this is
| happening?
| 
| RUN apt-get update \
|     && apt-get install -y gnupg2 software-properties-common \
|     && apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys
| E298A3A825C0D65DFD57CBB651716619E084DAB9 \
|     && add-apt-repository 'deb
https://cloud.r-project.org/bin/linux/ubuntu
| bionic-cran40/' \
|     && apt-get update \
|     && apt-get install -y \
|            r-base=4.1.2-* \
|            r-recommended=4.1.2-*
| 
| If I just install r-base-core=4.1.2-* it seems to install the correct
| version of R.

You were close. You need three lines at the end:

     && apt-get install -y \
            r-base=4.1.2-* \
            r-base-core=4.1.2-* \
            r-recommended=4.1.2-*

This has to do with a fact that such an imposed version does apparently _not_
get pushed through to the versions pulled in the by the packages you
constrained.  In other words, while 'r-base' gets fixed, the
'r-base-core' is
still "free" meaning you get the newest as `apt` tries to be helpful.

Dirk

-- 
dirk.eddelbuettel.com | @eddelbuettel | edd at debian.org