[R] update.packages()

[Jason Turner]

> When I try "Packages"->"Update packages from CRAN"
> the result is something like 
>    trying URL `http://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/contrib/PACKAGES'
>    unable to connect to 'cran.r-project.org'.
>    Error in download.file(url = paste(contriburl, "PACKAGES", sep = "/"),  : 
>         cannot open URL `http://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/contrib/PACKAGES'

> Opening the same URL in Internet Explorer opens PACKAGES okay. I had the 
> impression (perhaps fanciful) that R used the same settings as IE.

IE is just another progam.  You have to set up any other program 
(Netscape, Opera, CuteFTP, etc) with all the local config info, no
matter how IE is set up.  This is overall a good thing, but an 
occasional PITA, as you're discovering.

Without knowing more about your system & network setup, it's hard to
say.   Two posibilities that spring to mind are:

1) firewall/proxy iterference.
2) a *really* slow local DNS server and proxy, which exceeded the
default 60 second timeout

If you are behind a proxy, here's the short story... 

install.packages() uses download.file().  
?download.file() will tell you how download.file() uses the 
environment variables ftp_proxy and http_proxy to get its
proxy info.

And this is where I stop talking -- I know nothing about how
to set environment variables under any of the Windows OS family.
Anyone?

> would greatly value your advice on getting this very handy feature working.

It is a *very* handy feature.  Kudos to those who wrote it.

Cheers

Jason
-- 
Indigo Industrial Controls Ltd.
64-21-343-545
jasont at indigoindustrial.co.nz
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