[R] Warning message: cannot create HTML package index

[Peter Dalgaard]

Leo wrote:
> On 06/07/2007, Prof Brian Ripley wrote:
>   
>> On Fri, 6 Jul 2007, Leo wrote:
>>
>>     
>>> I have set R_LIBS=~/R_lib as I don't have root access.
>>>
>>> The following message shown up every time after installing a package:
>>>
>>>  ......
>>>  The downloaded packages are in
>>>  	/tmp/RtmpBoIPoz/downloaded_packages
>>>  Warning message:
>>>  cannot create HTML package index in: tools:::unix.packages.html(.Library)
>>>
>>> Any ideas?
>>>       
>> It is a correct warning.  What is the problem with being warned?
>>
>> R tries to maintain an HTML page of installed packages, but you don't have 
>> permission to update it.
>>     
>
> Where is that HTML page located on a GNU/Linux system?
>
> Is it possible to maintain a user HTML page of installed packages?
>
> Thanks,
>   
This confuses me a bit too. I had gotten used to the warning without
thinking about it. It tries to update $RHOME/doc/html/packages.html,
which starts like this:

.....
<p><h3>Packages in the standard library</h3>
.....

However, if I run help.start, I get

> help.start()
Making links in per-session dir ...
If 'firefox' is already running, it is *not* restarted, and you must
    switch to its window.
Otherwise, be patient ...

and then it opens (say)
  file:///tmp/RtmpXyp5Cg/.R/doc/html/index.html
which has a link to
  file:///tmp/RtmpXyp5Cg/.R/doc/html/packages.html

which looks like this

....
<p><h3>Packages in /home/bs/pd/Rlibrary</h3>
....
<p><h3>Packages in /usr/lib64/R/library</h3>

I.e. it is autogenerated by help.start and doesn't even look at the file
in $RHOME. So what puzzles me is

(a) why we maintain $RHOME/doc/html/packages.html at all

One argument could be that this is browseable for everyone on a system,
even without starting R. But then

(b) why do we even try updating it when packages are installed in a
private location?

-- 
   O__  ---- Peter Dalgaard             Øster Farimagsgade 5, Entr.B
  c/ /'_ --- Dept. of Biostatistics     PO Box 2099, 1014 Cph. K
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