[Rd] Offer zip builds

[Marc Schwartz]

> On Jun 3, 2019, at 4:40 PM, Abby Spurdle <spurdle.a using gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> If you go here:
>> https://cran.cnr.berkeley.edu/bin/windows/base
>> you see EXE installers for Windows. This contrasts with other programming
>> languages that offer both an executable installer and ZIP files that can
> be
>> extracted and run
> 
> Are you suggesting that R should do the same?
> If so, I second that, excellent idea.
> (However, gzip preferred).
> 
> I've had significant problems with the Windows installer.
> I've never had significant problems with zip files.
> Also, I assuming that the zip approach would be easier for systems
> administrators.
> However, I'm not a systems administrator...
> 
> 
> Abs


Hi,

First, I do not speak for R Core, who would, in the end, be responsible for offering something official here.

Second, prior discussions on this topic have generally pointed to:

  https://sourceforge.net/projects/rportable/

as one source for a portable version of R, albeit, with some dependencies (e.g. PortableApps framework)

That being said, again, based upon prior discussions on this topic, the typical reason for needing a ZIP archive of an R installation, is to circumvent Windows OS security restrictions, whereby a useR does not have the requisite Admin rights to install R via the default installer.

Thus, you can presumably download a ZIP of an R installation, unzip it in a location of your choosing, whereby you can then execute/run the R .exe binary. If you can't do that, then a ZIP will not be helpful to you.

I have not tried it, but if that is the case here, you may be able to use the normal R binary installer, but adjust the default install options when prompted, allowing you to customize the install location and other parameters, that may be suitable in the absence of Admin rights.

Prior statements, not official, would suggest that R Core is not likely to assist in providing official options for useRs to circumvent OS security restrictions.

Regards,

Marc Schwartz