[R] UNC Windows path beginning with backslashes
Henrik Bengtsson
hb at biostat.ucsf.edu
Sat Sep 3 20:43:00 CEST 2011
[I found this message still sitting in my outbox - better late than never]
Hi,
it should have been "K:" instead of "K" in those examples. However,
forget about what I said, because it (subst) turns out it will not
work with UNC paths, cf. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/218740.
Sorry for the noise
/Henrik
On Fri, Aug 19, 2011 at 10:39 AM, Keith Jewell <k.jewell at campden.co.uk> wrote:
> Thanks Henrik, but I have 2 reasons for not using that approach:
>
> A) If I don't map the drive until after R starts the UNC path is already
> present in several places I know about and probably some I don't, leading to
> the problems I started with.
>
> So reason 'B' doesn't really matter to me, but as author of R.utils you may
> be interested that...
> B) On my system those calls don't seem to work. Details here...
> --------------------------
>> library("R.utils")
> Loading required package: R.oo
> Loading required package: R.methodsS3
> R.methodsS3 v1.2.1 (2010-09-18) successfully loaded. See ?R.methodsS3 for
> help.
> R.oo v1.8.1 (2011-07-10) successfully loaded. See ?R.oo for help.
> R.utils v1.7.8 (2011-07-24) successfully loaded. See ?R.utils for help.
>> sessionInfo()
> R version 2.13.1 (2011-07-08)
> Platform: i386-pc-mingw32/i386 (32-bit)
>
> locale:
> [1] LC_COLLATE=English_United Kingdom.1252
> [2] LC_CTYPE=English_United Kingdom.1252
> [3] LC_MONETARY=English_United Kingdom.1252
> [4] LC_NUMERIC=C
> [5] LC_TIME=English_United Kingdom.1252
>
> attached base packages:
> [1] datasets grDevices splines graphics stats utils tcltk
> [8] tools methods base
>
> other attached packages:
> [1] R.utils_1.7.8 R.oo_1.8.1 R.methodsS3_1.2.1 RODBC_1.3-3
> [5] tree_1.0-29 nlme_3.1-102 MASS_7.3-14
> xlsReadWrite_1.5.4
> [9] svSocket_0.9-51 TinnR_1.0.3 R2HTML_2.2 Hmisc_3.8-3
> [13] survival_2.36-9
>
> loaded via a namespace (and not attached):
> [1] cluster_1.14.0 grid_2.13.1 lattice_0.19-31 svMisc_0.9-61
> # It seems to think I have no mapped drives....
>> System$getMappedDrivesOnWindows()
> named character(0)
> # Although I clearly have (in fact I'm running R from Z:), so I can't
> # find a 'spare' drive letter
>> system("net use")
> New connections will not be remembered.
>
> Status Local Remote Network
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> OK F: \\server10\microbiology Microsoft Windows Network
> OK L: \\server23\Stats Microsoft Windows Network
> OK M: \\server10\jewell Microsoft Windows Network
> OK Q: \\server04\pccommon (not backed up)
> Microsoft Windows Network
> OK R: \\server23\Template Microsoft Windows Network
> Z: \\campden\shares\Workgroup\Stats
> Microsoft Windows Network
> \\TSCLIENT\C Microsoft Terminal Services
> \\TSCLIENT\D Microsoft Terminal Services
> \\TSCLIENT\E Microsoft Terminal Services
> \\TSCLIENT\F Microsoft Terminal Services
> \\TSCLIENT\G Microsoft Terminal Services
> \\TSCLIENT\H Microsoft Terminal Services
> \\TSCLIENT\I Microsoft Terminal Services
> \\TSCLIENT\L Microsoft Terminal Services
> \\TSCLIENT\M Microsoft Terminal Services
> \\TSCLIENT\Q Microsoft Terminal Services
> \\TSCLIENT\R Microsoft Terminal Services
> The command completed successfully.
> # The commands you cited throw errors...
>> System$mapDriveOnWindows("K", "\\\\campden\\shares\\Workgroup\\Stats")
> Error in list(`System$mapDriveOnWindows("K",
> "\\\\campden\\shares\\Workgroup\\Stats")` = <environment>, :
>
> [2011-08-19 09:16:28] Exception: Argument 'drive' is not a valid drive (e.g.
> 'Y:'): K
> at throw(Exception(...))
> at throw.default("Argument 'drive' is not a valid drive (e.g. 'Y:'): ",
> drive)
> at throw("Argument 'drive' is not a valid drive (e.g. 'Y:'): ", drive)
> at method(static, ...)
> at System$mapDriveOnWindows("K", "\\\\campden\\shares\\Workgroup\\Stats")
>> driveLetters <- System$getMappedDrivesOnWindows()
>> driveLetters
> named character(0)
>> System$unmapDriveOnWindows("K")
> Error in list(`System$unmapDriveOnWindows("K")` = <environment>,
> `method(static, ...)` = <environment>, :
>
> [2011-08-19 09:29:09] Exception: Argument 'drive' is not a valid drive (e.g.
> 'Y:'): K
> at throw(Exception(...))
> at throw.default("Argument 'drive' is not a valid drive (e.g. 'Y:'): ",
> drive)
> at throw("Argument 'drive' is not a valid drive (e.g. 'Y:'): ", drive)
> at method(static, ...)
> at System$unmapDriveOnWindows("K")
>
> Thanks for your interest,
>
> Keith Jewell
> ---------------------------------------------
> "Henrik Bengtsson" <hb at biostat.ucsf.edu> wrote in message
> news:CAFDcVCQE3uUkmmqSjJ0fpEVfJgrAbrgBT1g8drCXGpnsJebEHw at mail.gmail.com...
> I think you can also do this from within R (e.g. in your .Rprofile)
> using the R.utils package;
>
> library("R.utils")
> System$mapDriveOnWindows("K", "\\\\campden\\shares\\Workgroup\\Stats")
> driveLetters <- System$getMappedDrivesOnWindows()
> System$unmapDriveOnWindows("K")
>
> These methods utilize 'subst' of MS Windows.
>
> /Henrik
>
> On Thu, Aug 18, 2011 at 6:12 PM, Keith Jewell <k.jewell at campden.co.uk>
> wrote:
>> Just to close this off, in case it helps anyone else in a similar
>> situation...
>>
>> Background: I have R installed on a UNC share with a site library named by
>> major and minor version, thus:
>> \\campden\shares\Workgroup\Stats 'root'
>> \\campden\shares\Workgroup\Stats\R base for R related things
>> \\campden\shares\Workgroup\Stats\R\R-2.13.1 one R installation
>> \\campden\shares\Workgroup\Stats\R\library site libraries go here
>> \\campden\shares\Workgroup\Stats\R\library\2.13 site library for R 2.13.x
>>
>> I took the hint and mapped a drive from which to start R.
>> Because I don't have a pre-determined drive letter to use I wrote a little
>> .bat file to do the job:
>> ------------------
>> REM find or 'net use' a drive mapped to stats share
>> set remote=\\campden\shares\Workgroup\Stats
>> set drive=
>> :check
>> for /f "delims=*" %%a in ('net use ^| find "%remote%"') do set drive=%%a
>> if not defined drive net use * %remote% /persistent:NO>nul & goto check
>> set StatsDrive=%drive:~13,2%
>> REM using that drive
>> REM a) ensure GTK+ is in the path (for packages such as 'playwith')
>> REM b) start 32 bit R
>> set path=%StatsDrive%/R/GTK+/bin;%path%
>> start %StatsDrive%\R\R-2.13.1\bin\i386\Rgui.exe
>> ----------------------------------------
>> That's a bit flakey, depending on the exact format of the output from 'net
>> use'. If anyone has a better solution, I'll appreciate it!
>>
>> Now the site library:
>> Putting a UNC path into Renviron.site thus...
>> R_LIBS_SITE=//campden/shares/workgroup/stats/R/library/%v
>> ... was the cause of my original problem.
>> I can't put it in as a mapped drive, because I don't know the drive until
>> run time.
>> I tried to work up and down from the drive mapped R_HOME...
>> R_LIBS_SITE=${R_HOME}/.../library/%v
>> ... but that didn't work in Renviron.site.
>>> Sys.getenv("R_HOME")
>> [1] "Z:/R/R-2.13.1"
>> ... which is fine, but...
>>> Sys.getenv("R_LIBS_SITE")
>> [1] "Z:RR-2.13.1/.../library/2.13"
>> I think this may be something to do with this quote from ?Startup...
>> "value is then processed in a similar way to a Unix shell: in particular
>> the
>> outermost level of (single or double) quotes is stripped, and backslashes
>> are removed except inside quotes"
>> ...but I don't have any control over R_HOME, specifically how and when
>> forward- or back-slashes are used or removed.
>>
>> In the end I used Renviron.site just to pass the version information...
>> R_Libs_Site=%v
>> That directory doesn't exist so doesn't get added to .libPaths()
>> In Rprofile.site I worked up and down from R_HOME...
>> .libPaths(file.path(dirname(R.home()),"library",Sys.getenv("R_Libs_Site")))
>> ... which seems to do the job.
>>
>> It isn't pretty, and the .bat file will probably need changing in future
>> versions of Windows.
>> But by the time R has started there isn't a UNC path in sight.
>> I still think I've probably re-invented a wheel and ended up with
>> something
>> square, but it is going round.
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Keith Jewell
>>
>> "Keith Jewell" <k.jewell at campden.co.uk> wrote in message
>> news:j22q11$9u9$1 at dough.gmane.org...
>>> Thanks Uwe.
>>>
>>> I'm aware (and have been forcefully reminded) that using a mapped drive
>>> avoids these problems. But there is no single drive letter which I can
>>> use
>>> site-wide, so I have problems with things like R_LIBS_SITE. As I've
>>> outlined I'm exploring a range of solutions, including mapping a drive
>>> where I can.
>>>
>>> I posted in the hope of learning from and perhaps helping those with
>>> similar problems. I hope that it is permissible to discuss non-canonical
>>> use of R on this list, I certainly did not intend disrespect for the R
>>> developers (or to make typing errors).
>>>
>>> Best regards
>>>
>>> Keith Jewell
>>>
>>> "Uwe Ligges" <ligges at statistik.tu-dortmund.de> wrote in message
>>> news:4E44091E.7090309 at statistik.tu-dortmund.de...
>>>> This is extremely tricky since Windows does not always accept "//"
>>>> rather
>>>> than "\\". Additionally, there is not implemented system call in
>>>> Windows,
>>>> hence ?Sys.glob tells us a "partial emulation" is provided and "An
>>>> attempt is made to handle UNC paths starting with a double backslash."
>>>>
>>>> As you have seenm this does not work everywhere, therefore it is
>>>> advisable to run R from mapped drives - as I am doing in the network of
>>>> our university for 13 years without problems now.
>>>>
>>>> Best,
>>>> Uwe Ligges
>>>>
>>>>
> <snip>
>
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