[Rd] Option for "Delete downloaded files (y/N)?" in install.packages()

[Prof Brian Ripley]

On Wed, 5 Jan 2005, Gregor GORJANC wrote:

> Hello!
>
> Thanks to Thomas and Brian for answers!
>
> Prof Brian Ripley wrote:
> ...
>>> Is it possible to include some option in install.packages() for
>>> Delete downloaded files (y/N)? at the end of that process. It can
>>> be quite anoying if you must install several packages and wait
>>> meanwhile to type y/n for each package separately.
>> 
>> It does happen at the end of the process: you are using one call for the 
>> several packages?  Something like install.packages(c("pkg1, "pkg2", 
>> "pkg3"))?

> Yes, it does happen at the end of the process, but I wrote a simple script, 
> which installs all favourite packages and it does one by one. I could
> modify it to use the whole list at once also, but there is apparently no need 
> since my wish/proposal is already solved in R-devel.

It will still be much more efficient to do them in one call.
For one thing, it chooses a suitable order to install the packages, and 
for another it downloads PACKAGES each time.

>> In R-devel you are not asked at all, and even now you will not be asked if 
>> you specify destdir.

> Yes, I know for the last one, but then you must delete them by "hand"!

Why can't your script do it?  Or you could use the session directory as 
R-devel now does.  Either way you don't need hands!

-- 
Brian D. Ripley,                  ripley at 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 272866 (PA)
Oxford OX1 3TG, UK                Fax:  +44 1865 272595