[Rd] "wizard" for building R-packages...

[Prof Brian Ripley]

> From: murdoch@stats.uwo.ca (Duncan Murdoch)
> Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 09:57:20 -0400
> 
> For people like me who mainly use Windows, the package documentation
> is rather intimidating.  It's not clear which parts of it work and
> which don't, or what tools beyond base R I need to build a package
> entirely within Windows (or if that is even possible).
> 
> A wizard would be helpful, but it's a lot of work for relatively few
> people to use.  An easier solution would be a short document listing
> all the steps necessary to build a package in Windows, including at
> least pointers to the document of all the tools that should be
> installed first.
> 
> This should probably contain two sections:  building a package that's
> intended to be portable to other systems, 

That is in `Writing R Extensions'.  Building it is exactly the same
as on Unix, but checking is not quite.

> and building one that's
> going to be packaged in a .zip file for Windows-only use.
> 
> If someone wants to volunteer to answer questions when I get stuck,
> I'll volunteer to produce the document.

Um.  I've already written one, called readme.packages in rw1011sp.zip.
It does have a list a tools to install first (and a reference
to an on-line portal for the current versions).  If you really
think that is inadequate (and it seems to have sufficed for those
who can follow instructions) please at least start from what is there.

The mechanics will change with R 1.2.0.  If you want to see where
this is going, take a look at the pre-release at

http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/pub/bdr/RWin/Rpre

and especially the revised `Writing R Extensions' manual there.  The
Windows and Unix procedures have become much closer.  Now don't go and
tell me I have wasted my time on making all these tools available on
Windows too, as well as writing manuals no one wanted/noticed!

-- 
Brian D. Ripley,                  ripley@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 272860 (secr)
Oxford OX1 3TG, UK                Fax:  +44 1865 272595

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