[R] contriburl argument to install.packages

[Roger D. Peng]

Hmm...is this maybe a bug?  Check out this section of 
install.packages():

     localcran <- length(grep("^file:", contriburl)) > 0
     if (!localcran) {
         if (is.null(destdir)) {
             tmpd <- tempfile("Rinstdir")
             if (!dir.create(tmpd))
                 stop("Unable to create temp directory ", tmpd)
         }
         else tmpd <- destdir
     }
     foundpkgs <- download.packages(pkgs, destdir = tmpd, 
available = available,
         contriburl = contriburl, method = method)

So if `localcran' is TRUE (which in this case, it is), then 
`tmpd' never gets defined but is passed to download.packages().

When I run a traceback() after getting the error from running 
install.packages(), it fails in download.packages() when trying 
to create the download directory.

For example, try defining `tmpd' in your workspace and the run 
install.packages.  This works for me:

tmpd <- "~/tmp"
install.packages("bzTools", contriburl = "file:c:/Rlibs/build")

Of course, you still need the PACKAGES file in the contriburl 
directory.

-roger

John Fox wrote:
> Dear Duncan, 
> 
> 
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: r-help-bounces at stat.math.ethz.ch 
>>[mailto:r-help-bounces at stat.math.ethz.ch] On Behalf Of Duncan Murdoch
>>Sent: Thursday, July 15, 2004 9:56 AM
>>To: John Fox
>>Cc: r-help at stat.math.ethz.ch
>>Subject: Re: [R] contriburl argument to install.packages
>>
>>On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 10:09:46 -0400, "John Fox" 
>><jfox at mcmaster.ca> wrote :
>>
>>
>>>Dear list members,
>>>
>>>I can't figure out how to specify the contriburl argument to
>>>install.packages() properly when the packages to be 
>>
>>installed are in a 
>>
>>>directory on my local machine. I have in mind a command 
>>
>>something like
>>
>>>	install.packages(missing.packages, contriburl=directory,
>>>lib=.libPaths()[1])
>>>
>>>Where missing.packages is a character vector of package 
>>
>>names (without
>>
>>>versions) and directory is the location where they reside (less 
>>>PACKAGES, I guess). I'm using R version 1.9.1 on a Windows 
>>
>>XP machine. 
>>
>>>Several variations on directory <- "file:c:/temp" don't seem to work.
>>>
>>>Any help would be appreciated.
>>
>>You need a file called PACKAGES in the same directory as the 
>>packages, which contains the package information; for example
>>
>> http://www.cran.mirrors.pair.com/bin/windows/contrib/1.9/PACKAGES
>>
>>I imagine the CRAN maintainers have scripts to produce this 
>>from the package files, but I'm not sure where they are.
>>
>>To refer to a local version of this file, use the syntax you had, e.g.
>>
>> CRAN.packages(contriburl="file:c:/temp")
>>
>>will look for c:/temp/PACKAGES and display the information in it.  
>>
> 
> 
> I had already tried this, and it doesn't appear to work for me. For example,
> 
> 	> CRAN.packages(contriburl="file:c:/temp")
> 	Error in file(file, "r") : unable to open connection
> 	In addition: Warning message: 
> 	cannot open file `c:/temp/PACKAGES' 
> 
> I *do* have a directory c:\temp\PACKAGES
> 
> Regards,
>  John
> 
> 
> 
> 
>>If you don't want to maintain this file, then you can 
>>construct the information in it using the "available=" 
>>argument to the package functions.
>>
>>Duncan
> 
> 
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