[R] read.dta error after OSX change in time zone

[Prof Brian Ripley]

This _is_ Mac-specific, so please use R-sig-mac.

It looks like changing the time zone is changing the behaviour of the 
system function strptime.  But we need a reproducible example (see the 
footer of this and every message).  You can probably create one by 
debugging the failing call and seeing what string it is that fromchar() is 
trying to interpret (and if this is called from as.Date.character or 
as.POSIXlt).  If that's beyond you, you will need to make your file 
available to us.

Please post full details as requested in the posting guide and the 
requested example on R-sig-mac.

On Mon, 31 Dec 2007, Danstan Bagenda wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> I recently moved from the US to Africa  &  on changing my time zone
> in the OSX system preferences from EST to GMT+3 ( East Africa)  on
> attempting to use read.dta  using the foreign package    began
> getting an error  of:
>
> "Error in fromchar(x) : character string is not in a standard
> unambiguous format"
>
> This error goes away & the data is correctly read in when I revert to
> the EST  time zone.
>
> I installed & am currently using R  Version 1.19-pre (devel, r4291)
> (4291)  while I was still in the US.

There is no such R version: that is the version of R.app.  Please see the 
posting guide for the information we do need.  I don't think this the 
devel version of R.

> I am running OS X 10.4.11 on an intel core duo Macbbook pro.
>
> I would appreciate any help .  I have tried to search the list & FAQ
> with no solution to this problem.
>
> Happy 2008.
>
> Danstan Bagenda
>
> 	[[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>
> ______________________________________________
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> PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>

-- 
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