[Rd] Strange behavior when using progress bar (Fwd: Re: [R] The code itself disappears after starting to execute the for loop)

Mon Nov 28 11:26:45 CET 2016

I first answered to the email below in r-help, but as I did not see any 
response, and it looks like a bug/unwanted behavior, I am also posting 
here. I have observed this in RGui, whereas it seems not to happen in 
RStudio.

Similar to OP, I sometimes have a problem with functions using the 
progress bar. Frequently, the console is cleared after x iterations when 
the progress bar is called in a function which is wrapped in a loop. In 
the example below, this happened for me every ~44th iteration. 
Interestingly, it seems that reduction of the sleep times in this 
function increases the number of iterations before clearing. In my real 
application, where the progress bar is used in a much slower function, 
the console is cleared every 2-3 iteration, which means that I cannot 
scroll back to check the output.

testit <- function(x = sort(runif(20)), ...)
{
   pb <- txtProgressBar(...)
   for(i in c(0, x, 1)) {Sys.sleep(0.2); setTxtProgressBar(pb, i)}
   Sys.sleep(1)
   close(pb)
}

iter = 0
while (TRUE) {testit(style = 3); iter = iter + 1; print(paste("done", 
iter))}

Is this only a problem for a few, or is it reproducible? Any hints to
what the problem could be, or if it can be fixed? I have seen this in 
some versions of R, and could also reproduce in 3.3.2.

Best wishes,
Jon

R version 3.3.2 (2016-10-31)
Platform: x86_64-w64-mingw32/x64 (64-bit)
Running under: Windows 8.1 x64 (build 9600)

locale:
[1] LC_COLLATE=English_United States.1252
[2] LC_CTYPE=English_United States.1252
[3] LC_MONETARY=English_United States.1252
[4] LC_NUMERIC=C
[5] LC_TIME=English_United States.1252

attached base packages:
[1] stats     graphics  grDevices utils     datasets  methods base

On 11/23/2016 5:22 PM, Maram SAlem wrote:
> Thanks a lot Bert , will check out your suggestions.
>
> I've unchecked the buffer output option in GUI but still have the same problem.
>
> Thanks for your time and concern.
>
> Maram Salem
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Nov 23, 2016, at 5:55 PM, Bert Gunter <bgunter.4567 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> In addition to Jim's comments, which you have not yet satisfactorily
>> addressed (buffering in GUI??),
>>
>> 1. Show your code!
>>
>> 2. Show ouput of sessionInfo()
>>
>> 3. Upgrade to the latest R version maybe
>>
>> 4. Perhaps write to package maintainer (see ?maintainer) if nothing or
>> no one helps.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Bert
>>
>>
>> Bert Gunter
>>
>> "The trouble with having an open mind is that people keep coming along
>> and sticking things into it."
>> -- Opus (aka Berkeley Breathed in his "Bloom County" comic strip )
>>
>>
>>> On Tue, Nov 22, 2016 at 10:05 AM, Maram SAlem <marammagdysalem at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Thanks for helping Jim.
>>>
>>> I'm actually using the pbapply function together with the print function within a loop. In earlier versions, the progress bar and the output of the print function used to appear after each iteration of the loop. But with the 3.3.1. Version nothing appears, instead the console turns white and thecursor turns blue ( busy) and I know nothing about the progress of the running code.
>>>
>>> I just want to see the bar and the output of the print function as I used to, any help?
>>>
>>> Thanks in advance.
>>> Maram Salem
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>>> On Nov 3, 2016, at 8:30 PM, jim holtman <jholtman at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> A little more information would help.  How exactly are out creating the output to the console?  Are you using 'print', 'cat' or something else?  Do you have buffered output checked on the GUI (you probably don't want it checked or you output will be delayed till the buffer is full -- this mightbe the cause of your problem.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Jim Holtman
>>>> Data Munger Guru
>>>>
>>>> What is the problem that you are trying to solve?
>>>> Tell me what you want to do, not how you want to do it.
>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, Nov 3, 2016 at 1:55 PM, Maram SAlem <marammagdysalem at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> Hi all,
>>>>>
>>>>> I've a question concerning the R 3.3.1 version. I have a long code that I used to run on versions earlier to the 3.3.1 version, and when I copied the code to the R console, I can still see the code while the loop is executing , along with the output printed after each iteration of the loop.
>>>>>
>>>>> Now, on the 3.3.1 version, after I copy the code to the console, it disappears and I only see the printed output of only one iteration at a time, that is, after the first iteration the printed output disappears ( thoughit's only 6 lines, just giving me some guidance, not a long output).
>>>>> This is causing me some problems, so I don't know if there is a general option for R that enables me to still see the code and the output of allthe iterations till the loop is over, as was the case with earlier R versions.
>>>>>
>>>>> I didn't include the code as it's a long one.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks a lot in advance,
>>>>>
>>>>> Maram
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>> ______________________________________________
>>>>> R-help at r-project.org mailing list -- To UNSUBSCRIBE and more, see
>>>>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
>>>>> PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
>>>>> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>>>         [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>>>
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> ______________________________________________
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-- 
Jon Olav Skøien
Joint Research Centre - European Commission
Institute for Space, Security & Migration
Disaster Risk Management Unit

Via E. Fermi 2749, TP 122,  I-21027 Ispra (VA), ITALY

jon.skoien at jrc.ec.europa.eu
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and do not necessarily represent official views of the European Commission.

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