[Rd] Offer zip builds

[Steven Penny]

On Mon, Jun 3, 2019 at 4:11 PM Marc Schwartz wrote:
> 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.

Theres nothing nefarious here. It would allow people to use the R environment
without running an installer. If someone is a new user they may want to try
R out, and installers can be invasive as they commonly:

- copy files to install dir
- copy files to profile dir
- set registry entries
- set environment variables
- set start menu entries

and historically uninstallers have a bad record of reverting these changes.
should not put this burden upon new users or even having them resort to virtual
machine to avoid items above. having a ZIP file allows new users to run the
R environment, then if they like it perhaps they can run the installer going
forward. Are you familiar with Windows? As everything I am describing hasnt
changed in at least 20 years.

I dont have a criticism of the R installer, I have not run tests to be able to
determine if its well behaved or not. Its the *not knowing* that is the issue.
With Windows, every installer could be perceived as a "black box".