[R] help stored permanently

[Martin Maechler]

>>>>> R Michael Weylandt <michael.weylandt at gmail.com>
>>>>>     on Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:06:35 +0100 writes:

    > On Monday, October 22, 2012, Christian Hoffmann wrote:
    >> Hi,
    >> 
    >> Each > help.start() generates a new tree of the R help
    >> system, somewhere in 127.0.0.1:xxx, each xxx being
    >> difeerent. This tree disappears when exiting R. How can
    >> the current help tree copied to a permanent place for
    >> reference outside a running R? This would be practical
    >> for not having to enter M-x R .
    >> 
    >> 
    > If I understand correctly the docs correctly, the help
    > system is dynamically generated/served by an asynchronous
    > server within R so you'll need to have an R instance going
    > somewhere. In short, not sure it's possible, but far
    > outside my expertise and not unlikely to be quite wrong.

Fortunately, it *is* still possible.
Otherwise, one of the historically oldest and still existing
services to the R community, 

	http://stat.ethz.ch/R-manual/
	http://stat.ethz.ch/R-manual/R-devel/doc/html
	http://stat.ethz.ch/R-manual/R-patched/doc/html

would no longer be possible.

However to make it possible, you must install R from the sources,
and configure it using
	
	 --enable-prebuilt-html

    > Are the various places that the help system is served
    > online sufficient for your purposes?

They should be, I'd say.  If they aren't, you need to build R
from the sources.... not a bad exercise anyways ;-)

Martin Maechler,
ETH Zurich

    > Cheers, RMW


    >> TIA
    >> 
    >> --Christian
    >> 
    >> --
    >> Christian W. Hoffmann, CH - 8915 Hausen am Albis,
    >> Switzerland Rigiblickstrasse 15 b, Tel.+41-44-7640853
    >> c-w.hoffmann at sunrise.ch, christian at echoffmann.ch,
    >> www.echoffmann.ch