[R] R: install - Perl dependency problem in Debian/Damn Small Linux

[Tim Cutts]

On 14 Mar 2005, at 12:46 pm, Stuart Leask wrote:

> (I vaguely recall a suggestion there be a r-debian list, which this 
> would be
> appropriate for, but I can't find such a list if it exists. Apologies)
>
> OS: Damn Small Linux 1.0rc1 - a tiny (50MB) debian/knoppix-based distro
>
> I can't apt-get R.
>
> root at ttyp0[dsl]# apt-get  install -testing r-base r-base-core 
> r-recommended
> Reading Package Lists... Done
> Building Dependency Tree... Done
> Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
> requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
> distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
> or been moved out of Incoming.
> The following information may help to resolve the situation:
>
> The following packages have unmet dependencies:
>   r-base-core: Depends: perl but it is not going to be installed
> E: Broken packages
>
> PROBLEM 1: Perl is certainly installed. However, it may have various 
> bits
> removed to save space.
>
> However, if I try to correct this with:
>
> apt-get install perl
>
> I get:
>
> The following packages have unmet dependencies:
>   perl: depends perl-base (=5.6.1-8.7) but 5.8.0-18 is to be installed
> E: broken packages
>
> I've tried different feeds eg. -testing, but get the same problem.
>
> Has anyone come across this, or have any ideas?

It's the perl upgrade that's the problem, obviously.  Is there any 
particular reason why you're using this tiny distribution rather than 
just using plain, normal Debian?

Trying to upgrade this with full Debian packages sounds like asking for 
a world of pain, especially since the package versions in testing, in 
particular, are way ahead of what your existing system is using.  It's 
a bit like trying to install Fedora packages on a Red Hat 7.2 box; i.e. 
pretty unlikely to work.

You might do better to actually compile R from scratch on your system, 
rather than installing the binary packages.

Tim

-- 
Dr Tim Cutts
Informatics Systems Group, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
GPG: 1024D/E3134233 FE3D 6C73 BBD6 726A A3F5  860B 3CDD 3F56 E313 4233