[R] INSTALL.in: Install R to local path?

[Prof Brian Ripley]

Well, the INSTALL _script_ is for installing packages.  But the top-level 
INSTALL file says

'This document concerns building and installing R from sources.  Pre-made
  binaries are made available for some systems with varying regularity and
  can be obtained from CRAN (see the RESOURCES file).

  The main source of information on installation is the `R Installation
  and Administration Manual', an HTML copy of which is available as file
  `doc/html/R-admin.html'.  Please read that before installing R.  But
  if you are impatient, read on but please refer to the manual to
  resolve any problems.  (If you obtained R using Subversion, the manual
  is at doc/manual/R-admin.texi.)'

The cited manual does tell you how to install R in other places.
For example,

./configure --prefix=$HOME/R
make
make install

will install into ~/R.  (Since ~ is not an sh concept, you do need to use 
$HOME.)

There is a lot more detail in the manual, and you can even install to a 
different place once R is built.


On Wed, 2 Jan 2008, Daniel Oberski wrote:

> Dear all,
>
>
> I am trying to install R on a (Linux Debian) machine where I do not
> have root access. So far I succeeded in compiling from source and
> running R.
>
> But I would really like to be able to use "make install" and to be
> able to install certain packages such as foreign. Now these actions
> require permissions for directories that I do not have.
>
> In particular I would like R home to be ~/bin/R, the libraries to
> reside in ~/lib, and so on.
>
> I looked in the INSTALL script and it would seem to be possible to
> accomplish this by editing INSTALL.in, running ./configure and
> make-ing again. But the INSTALL.in file is rather daunting and I do
> not know which variables I need to change...
>
> Any help or pointers would be greatly appreciated here.
>
>
> Best regards,
>
> Daniel


-- 
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