[Rd] Writing in R // R 4.2.0 on Windows doesn't work with Dasher

[Duncan Murdoch]

On 15/05/2022 1:09 p.m., Paulo Barata wrote:
> 
> Following Mr. Murdoch's suggestion, I installed R Studio (2022.02.2
> build 485) on my Windows 10 Professional.
> 
> When opening R Studio, it showed R 4.2.0 patched, the most recent
> version of R I had installed here. As it happens with the standalone R
> 4.2.0, Dasher did not work with R Studio with that version of R --
> please see below what happened.

That's too bad.  Still, there are other front ends:

- Running Rterm in a command window.

- R in Visual Studio Code

- ESS in Emacs

- Others whose names I don't remember; not sure how active any of them 
are these days.

And finally, if you are really desperate, I believe dasher runs on other 
platforms besides Windows, i.e. Linux and MacOS.

Duncan Murdoch


> 
> I unistalled R 4.2.0 patched and also R 4.2.0, so then my latest version
> of R was R 4.1.3 patched. This was now the version of R that R Studio
> used. Dasher also did not work in R Studio with R 4.1.3 patched --
> please see below what happened. Please note that the standalone R 4.1.3
> patched does work perfectly well with Dasher.
> 
> What happens in R Studio with both R 4.2.0 patched and R 4.1.3 patched:
> when I open R studio and start writing with Dasher, the first character
> that I write is now the character that always appears on the R Studio
> console, no matter what other characters I am commanding with Dasher.
> For R Studio, strangely, Dasher seems to be stuck in the first character.
> 
> For example, if I wish to write a plot command in R Studio, the first
> Dasher "p" is accepted by R Studio, but the next "lot" appears on the R
> Studio console as "ppp". This is is contrast with what happens with
> Dasher on R 4.2.0, where, except for the "Enter" character, no other
> character is accepted by R 4.2.0, the R 4.2.0 screen just does not
> respond to Dasher.
> 
> Both in R 4.2.0 and in R Studio, the "Enter" character of Dasher work
> well, it makes the R prompt to jump to the next line.
> 
> So, Dasher does not work with R Studio either, but in a different way
> than it happens with R 4.2.0.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Paulo Barata
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> Paulo Barata
> Rua Almirante Alexandrino 1808 apt. 102
> Santa Teresa
> 20241-263  Rio de Janeiro - RJ
> 
> Paulo Barata
> Sub-Síndico - Condomínio do Edifício Dois Irmãos
> Rua Almirante Alexandrino 1808 - Santa Teresa
> 
> E-mail: pb using infolink.com.br
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> 
> On 15/05/2022 13:27, Duncan Murdoch wrote:
>> On 15/05/2022 10:58 a.m., Ivan Krylov wrote:
>>> On Sun, 15 May 2022 11:10:49 -0300
>>> Paulo Barata <pb using infolink.com.br> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I noticed today that R 4.2.0 responds to the "Enter" character of
>>>> Dasher version 5.0.0 beta in "Direct Entry" mode. An "Enter" in
>>>> Dasher causes the R prompt to jump to the next line, as an "Enter"
>>>> should do.
>>>>
>>>> No other characters (letters, digits, special characters like + = & ~
>>>> | # $) are accepted by R 4.2.0 through Dasher.
>>>
>>> This seems to be very similar to the problem discussed here:
>>> https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/2022-May/081683.html
>>>
>>> For the record, here's the part of Dasher responsible for "Direct
>>> Entry" on Windows:
>>> https://github.com/dasher-project/dasher/blob/0ec7d646dbaadf06b8eebfc11b784738a20e75af/Src/Win32/Widgets/Edit.cpp#L302
>>>
>>>
>>> MSDN says:
>>>
>>>>> If KEYEVENTF_UNICODE is specified, SendInput sends a WM_KEYDOWN or
>>>>> WM_KEYUP message to the foreground thread's message queue with
>>>>> wParam equal to VK_PACKET. Once GetMessage or PeekMessage obtains
>>>>> this message, passing the message to TranslateMessage posts a
>>>>> WM_CHAR message with the Unicode character originally specified by
>>>>> wScan.
>>>
>>> <https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/winuser/ns-winuser-keybdinput>
>>>
>>
>> As far as I can see, Graphapp never looks for VK_PACKET.
>>
>>>
>>> Previously, Tomas Kalibera has mentioned:
>>>
>>>> For Unicode Windows, GraphApp uses WM_IME_COMPOSITION messages to
>>>> read the keys instead of WM_CHAR, which it uses for non-Unicode
>>>> windows.
>>>
>>> I think that for a combination of R >= 4.2 and Dasher, this means an
>>> impasse. Either Dasher should be taught to send WM_IME_COMPOSITION
>>> messages to R (?), or R should learn to understand WM_CHAR messages in
>>> its Unicode windows in addition to WM_IME_COMPOSITION it currently uses.
>>>
>>
>> Another possible solution for Paulo is to use R via some other front end
>> besides RGui, e.g. RStudio, but there are other possibilities too.
>>
>> Duncan Murdoch