[R] adding option in the Windows installer for --internet2

[Liaw, Andy]

> From: Duncan Murdoch 
> 
> On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 16:18:43 -0400, "Liaw, Andy" <andy_liaw at merck.com>
> wrote :
> 
> >[Not sure if such wishlist item should go to R-help or R-devel...]
> >
> >It would be nice if an option can be added to the R for 
> Windows installer
> >that will add the --internet2 option to the command line in 
> the shortcut
> >that gets created.  Also, is it possible to make that an 
> option that can be
> >set at the R prompt, or perhaps even better, as the default no matter
> >how/where R is started?  For those of us behind corporate 
> firewalls, life
> >w/o --internet2 is not terribly pleasant, and naïve users 
> are too naïve to
> >remember that...
> 
> It would be easy to put there, but I can't for the life of me figure
> out how I would document it.  If a user is too naive to know to use it
> when running R, how would they know which choice to make when
> installing it?
> 
> Alternatively, if you know a test that could determine whether
> --internet2 is desirable, perhaps the installer could use that.

The XEmacs and cygwin netinstaller has three install options: "Use IE5
settings", "Direct connection" (or something like that) and "Install from
local disk".  Option #2 never work for me, but #1 does.  I suspect the R
installer can do something similar:  offer the two options (with and
without), and somehow test if the connection (to CRAN) works.  If not,
prompt the user to try the other option.  My take is that this option should
be (semi?) permanent:  If it's needed, it's needed all the time for that
installation.  Wouldn't it make sense to have the setting written to some
file in, say, $R_HOME/etc, that tells R to use that option, instead of using
the command line argument?


> As to the idea of switching at the R prompt or as a global
> configuration option:  those are probably possible, possibly tricky,
> patches to do them will be considered.

Would what I suggested above be easier than this?  Not that I have any clue
as to how to do this, unfortunately...

Cheers,
Andy
 
> Duncan Murdoch
> 
>