[R] building packages using S4 methods

[Prof Brian Ripley]

On Wed, 30 Jul 2003, Marsland, John wrote:

> I can only find the option "--save" under install.
> I'm using "Rcmd build --binary pkgName" on a Windows NT platform is there
> anyway I can pass a similar directive?
> 
> Is there any more detailed documentation for Rcmd beyond the "Writing R
> Extensions" manual or should I look at the R source code?

First point: Rcmd is JUST A FRONT END like R CMD on Unix: what do you want
detailed documentation on that for?  It's *build* you want to be looking
at.

Second point: build --binary is one way to distribute a fully-debugged
package, but INSTALL --build is a better way (as it allows more options).  
In either case you don't want to package up a non-functional package, do
you?

Third point: you can use install.R to provoke saving: that's described
in the help for INSTALL.

The moral is:  use R CMD/Rcmd INSTALL to install a package, and once it is
working, use R CMD/Rcmd build to make a source distribution or (on
Windows) Rcmd INSTALL --build to make a binary distribution

Unsurprisingly it is ?INSTALL that has help on the installation options.


[I presume the answer to my question was that you were not using --save,
but do please try to answer questions put to you by the helpers.]

[...]

-- 
Brian D. Ripley,                  ripley at stats.ox.ac.uk
Professor of Applied Statistics,  http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~ripley/
University of Oxford,             Tel:  +44 1865 272861 (self)
1 South Parks Road,                     +44 1865 272866 (PA)
Oxford OX1 3TG, UK                Fax:  +44 1865 272595