[R] Help with installing a .tar.gz package on windows

[William Dunlap]

> Since you are clearly out of your league with respect to compiling from source

We are all beginners at something.  Telling Windows users that building packages
from source is beyond them is walling them off from a very productive area.

Here is how I set things up to build R packages from either a source directory
or a tar.gz file on Windows.

(a) Download Rtools for your version of R from Duncan Murdoch's site (or whereever
it is) and install it.  I install it into C:\Rtools\Rtools-i.j.k (where i.j.k is currently 3.0.x).
I select 'no' if the installer asks whether I want to update my global PATH variable
because I need to be able to compile packages for various version and dialects of S (R, S+, TERR).

(b) Make a text file in C:\Rtools\Rtools-3.0.x called SETPATH.bat containing the following
::: start of file 
: You should set the following 2 variables to say where you installed Rtools and R itself
set RTOOLS_HOME=C:\Rtools\Rtools-3.0.x
set R_HOME=C:\Program Files\R\R-3.0.1

: You may have to change gcc-4.6.3 to something else as the version supplied
: in Rtools-x.y.z changes, but the following works now.
set RTOOLS_PATH=%RTOOLS_HOME%\bin;%RTOOLS_HOME%\MinGW\bin;%RTOOLS_HOME%\gcc-4.6.3\bin
set R_PATH=%R_HOME%\bin

set PATH=%RTOOLS_PATH%;%R_PATH%;%PATH%
::: end of file

You only have to do steps (a) and (b) once for a given version of R.

(c) When you want to compile a package, make a new DOS commands window (run cmd.exe)  and type
     C:\Rtools\Rtools-3.0.x\SETPATH.bat
at the DOS prompt to run the bat file that you created in (b).  cd to the directory containing the package source and type (still at the DOS prompt)
    R CMD INSTALL myPackage.tar.gz
or
    R CMD INSTALL myPackage
depending on if you have a tar.gz file or a directory containing the package source.

Test the package by typing
    R
and when you get the R prompt
    library(myPackage)

If you want to use things like MiKTeX or InnovSetup add their bin directories to PATH
in that SETPATH.bat file.

There are other paths to build a package from source, but see if this one works.

Bill Dunlap
Spotfire, TIBCO Software
wdunlap tibco.com


> -----Original Message-----
> From: r-help-bounces at r-project.org [mailto:r-help-bounces at r-project.org] On Behalf
> Of David Winsemius
> Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 5:22 PM
> To: Lucy Leigh
> Cc: r-help at r-project.org
> Subject: Re: [R] Help with installing a .tar.gz package on windows
> 
> 
> On Jul 10, 2013, at 4:37 PM, Lucy Leigh wrote:
> 
> > Hi,
> > I have had a look at the manual but it makes no sense to me. I have
> > downloaded RTools, and the InnoSetup,
> > but I don't understand how to use these to install my package? Am I
> > meant to be writing commands
> > in R itself, or in these other things I've downloaded?
> 
> Since you are clearly out of your league with respect to compiling from source, now is
> the time to ask (again), why are you not installing the binary package?
> 
> At the R command line just type:
> 
> install.packages("PReMiuM")  # should default to type="win.binary" and use a CRAN
> mirror
> 
> --
> David
> 
> 
> > Lucy
> >
> >>>> Erin Hodgess <erinm.hodgess at gmail.com> 9/07/2013 5:30 pm >>>
> > Hi Lucy:
> >
> > Did you look at the R Installation and Administration manuals?  There's
> > a
> > good section about installing on Windows via Rtools.
> >
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Jul 8, 2013 at 10:18 PM, Lucy Leigh
> > <Lucy.Leigh at newcastle.edu.au>wrote:
> >
> >> Great thank you - are there any resources that step through how to
> > use
> >> RTools to compile the
> >> source package and install it in R on (64-bit windows) ?
> >>
> >>>>> Berend Hasselman <bhh at xs4all.nl> 8/07/2013 6:38 pm >>>
> >>
> >> On 08-07-2013, at 02:15, "Lucy Leigh" <Lucy.Leigh at newcastle.edu.au>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Hi,
> >>> I have a source package that isn't available as a windows zip
> > file.
> >> Can
> >>> anyone explain to me how I can install this on my windows R
> >> platform?
> >>> When I use the following code:
> >>> install.packages("PReMiuM_3.0.21.tar.gz", type = "source")
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >> Where did you get that version from?
> >> CRAN has version 3.0.20 and that is available as a binary Windows
> >> package (.zip).
> >>
> >> As for the error message: you have to have Rtools installed to
> > compile
> >> source packages.
> >>
> >> Berend
> >>
> >>> I get this error message:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> * installing *source* package 'PReMiuM' ...
> >>> ** libs
> >>>
> >>> *** arch - i386
> >>> ERROR: compilation failed for package 'PReMiuM'
> >>> * removing 'C:/Program Files/R/R-3.0.1/library/PReMiuM'
> >>> Warning messages:
> >>> 1: running command '"C:/PROGRA~1/R/R-30~1.1/bin/x64/R" CMD INSTALL
> >> -l
> >>> "C:\Program Files\R\R-3.0.1\library" "PReMiuM_3.0.21.tar.gz"' had
> >> status
> >>> 1
> >>> 2: In install.packages("PReMiuM_3.0.21.tar.gz", type = "source") :
> >>> installation of package 'PReMiuM_3.0.21.tar.gz' had non-zero
> >> exit
> >>> status
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>> Thanks for any help anyone can give me,
> >>> Lucy
> >>>
> >>> ______
> 
> David Winsemius
> Alameda, CA, USA
> 
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