[R] R does not start from (Debian) linux command line - error with doWithOneRestart() - segmentation fault

Henrik Bengtsson henr|k@bengt@@on @end|ng |rom gm@||@com
Thu Apr 8 18:28:49 CEST 2021


Ashim, as Martin says, there's something really weird going on with
your core R installation.  This is definitely not expected, and I
don't know think if I've every seen this reported before.  Here are
some questions/comments that might help you move forward and for
others to pitch in:

1. How did you install R?

2. What happens if you call:

$ Rscript --vanilla -e "1+2"

3. What happens if you call:

$ Rscript --vanilla --default-packages=base -e "1+2"

4. What happens if you call:

$ Rscript --vanilla --default-packages=base,methods -e "1+2"

If any of 2-4 gives a different result, that's a first clue.

/Henrik

On Wed, Apr 7, 2021 at 1:17 AM Ashim Kapoor <ashimkapoor using gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Wed, Apr 7, 2021 at 12:51 PM Martin Maechler
> <maechler using stat.math.ethz.ch> wrote:
> >
> > >>>>> Ashim Kapoor
> > >>>>>     on Wed, 7 Apr 2021 10:35:14 +0530 writes:
> >
> >     > Dear R experts,
> >
> >     > Here is my problem :
> >
> >     > R startup FAILS with an error message. The error message
> >     > is more meaningful when I do invoke R via sudo OR as
> >     > root. I attach the startup messages when I invoke R as :
> >
> >     > 1. as non root user 2. with sudo 3. as Root user.
> >
> >     > The error messages ( mentioned in snippets below ) are
> >     > more meaningful to me in the above mentioned order.
> >
> > Thank you, Ashim.
> >
> > Yes, the messages point to something really bad.
> >
> > OTOH ("On the other hand"), what we *can* see is that you try to
> > start R version 3.6.3.
> >
>
> My apologies for not being clear.
>
> I would like to clarify :
>
> 1. The error message from the incantation `R` is not very informative.
>
> 2. The error message from the incantation `sudo R` says (among other
> things which don't seem significant to me):
> Error in doWithOneRestart(return(` \\x82\\x0ccPV`), restart) :
>   not a proper file name
>
> 3. The error message from invoking R as a root user says:
>
> Error: not a proper file name
> Fatal error: unable to initialize the JIT
>
> I found this on the internet :
> https://stackoverflow.com/questions/19512165/error-in-dowithonerestart
>
> The error messages and the above link point to issues with JAVA, but
> it does not say how to fix them.
>
> That is why I thought : there is an .xlsx file which has non english
> characters which is messing with
> Java.
>
> Query : is there a way to do JAVA garbage collection when R is not starting ?
>
> > While that is not extremely old, it may well be older than
> > several other pieces of software (or even hardware) that you are
> > running with.
> >
> > I very very  *strongly* recommend to use an R version 4.0.x ... and why not
> > use the latest  4.0.5 ?
> >
>
> We upgraded to 4.0.5 but it did not make a difference. We restarted
> the computer and that fixed the error.
> I think the JAVA garbage collection kicked in when we reset the
> computer and that is why it was fixed on rebooting. Not sure though.
>
> > Then, it may also be caused by a mismatch of system libraries
> > and your oldish version of R. ... but there I'd strongly
> > recommend consulting with other Debian users, notably as there
> > is a dedicated  mailing list  R-SIG-Debian --> do subscribe
> > there, and ask -- with more details on how you got your R: Is it
> > the default R on your Debian, which version of Debian,  etc.
> >
> > Last but not least, Dirk Eddelbuettel, the maintainer of the
> > official R Debian package maintains a nice web page -- part of
> > the official CRAN web pages, but unfortunately a bit hidden
> > nowadays, (not the least because CRAN still uses frames (würg!!)):
> >
> >   https://cloud.r-project.org/bin/linux/debian/
> >
> > A very nice and useful page,  much underrated and underused,
> > probably.
> >
>
> Thank you for this.
>
> > Best regards,
> >
> > Martin Maechler
> > ETH Zurich  and  R Core Team
> >
> >
> >     > When I google around for the error message, it looks like
> >     > there is an .xlsx file which has non english characters
> >     > which is messing with Java.
> >
> >     > I do not know how to fix this. I tried :-
> >
> >     > R --vanilla
> >
> >     > so that it would not use any startup scripts but that also
> >     > does not work.
> >
> >     > ----------------- snip
> >     > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >     > When I try to start R from the command line :
> >
> >     > ~$ R
> >
> >     >  *** caught segfault *** address (nil), cause 'unknown'
> >
> >     > Traceback: 1: NextMethod(.Generic) 2:
> >     > Ops.numeric_version(R_version_built_under, "3.0.0") 3:
> >     > testRversion(pkgInfo, package, pkgpath) 4:
> >     > library(package, lib.loc = lib.loc, character.only = TRUE,
> >     > logical.return = TRUE, warn.conflicts = warn.conflicts,
> >     > quietly = quietly, mask.ok = mask.ok, exclude = exclude,
> >     > include.only = include.only, attach.required =
> >     > attach.required) 5: doTryCatch(return(expr), name,
> >     > parentenv, handler) 6: tryCatchOne(expr, names, parentenv,
> >     > handlers[[1L]]) 7: tryCatchList(expr, classes, parentenv,
> >     > handlers) 8: tryCatch(library(package, lib.loc = lib.loc,
> >     > character.only = TRUE, logical.return = TRUE,
> >     > warn.conflicts = warn.conflicts, quietly = quietly,
> >     > mask.ok = mask.ok, exclude = exclude, include.only =
> >     > include.only, attach.required = attach.required), error =
> >     > function(e) e) 9: require(pkg, quietly = TRUE,
> >     > warn.conflicts = FALSE, character.only = TRUE) 10:
> >     > .OptRequireMethods()
> >
> >     > Possible actions: 1: abort (with core dump, if enabled) 2:
> >     > normal R exit 3: exit R without saving workspace 4: exit R
> >     > saving workspace Selection: Segmentation fault
> >
> >     > ----------------- snip
> >     > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >     > When I try to start R with sudo it gives a more clear
> >     > message :-
> >
> >     > ~$ sudo R
> >
> >     >  *** caught segfault *** address (nil), cause 'unknown'
> >
> >     > Traceback: 1: NextMethod(.Generic) 2:
> >     > Ops.numeric_version(R_version_built_under, "3.0.0") 3:
> >     > testRversion(pkgInfo, package, pkgpath) 4:
> >     > library(package, lib.loc = lib.loc, character.only = TRUE,
> >     > logical.return = TRUE, warn.conflicts = warn.conflicts,
> >     > quietly = quietly, mask.ok = mask.ok, exclude = exclude,
> >     > include.only = include.only, attach.required =
> >     > attach.required) 5: doTryCatch(return(expr), name,
> >     > parentenv, handler) 6: tryCatchOne(expr, names, parentenv,
> >     > handlers[[1L]]) 7: tryCatchList(expr, classes, parentenv,
> >     > handlers) 8: tryCatch(library(package, lib.loc = lib.loc,
> >     > character.only = TRUE, logical.return = TRUE,
> >     > warn.conflicts = warn.conflicts, quietly = quietly,
> >     > mask.ok = mask.ok, exclude = exclude, include.only =
> >     > include.only, attach.required = attach.required), error =
> >     > function(e) e) 9: require(pkg, quietly = TRUE,
> >     > warn.conflicts = FALSE, character.only = TRUE) 10:
> >     > .OptRequireMethods()
> >
> >     > Possible actions: 1: abort (with core dump, if enabled) 2:
> >     > normal R exit 3: exit R without saving workspace 4: exit R
> >     > saving workspace Selection: Error in
> >     > doWithOneRestart(return(` \\x82\\x0ccPV`), restart) : not
> >     > a proper file name
> >
> >     > R version 3.6.3 (2020-02-29) -- "Holding the Windsock"
> >     > Copyright (C) 2020 The R Foundation for Statistical
> >     > Computing Platform: x86_64-pc-linux-gnu (64-bit)
> >
> >     > R is free software and comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY.
> >     > You are welcome to redistribute it under certain
> >     > conditions.  Type 'license()' or 'licence()' for
> >     > distribution details.
> >
> >     >   Natural language support but running in an English
> >     > locale
> >
> >     > R is a collaborative project with many contributors.  Type
> >     > 'contributors()' for more information and 'citation()' on
> >     > how to cite R or R packages in publications.
> >
> >     > Type 'demo()' for some demos, 'help()' for on-line help,
> >     > or 'help.start()' for an HTML browser interface to help.
> >     > Type 'q()' to quit R.
> >
> >     > Error: not a proper file name Error in
> >     > doWithOneRestart(return(` \\x82\\x0ccPV`), restart) :
> >     > promise already under evaluation: recursive default
> >     > argument reference or earlier problems?  Segmentation
> >     > fault
> >
> >     > ----------------- snip
> >     > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >     > Invoking R as a root user :-
> >
> >     > $ sudo -i root using crayshrimp ~ # R
> >
> >     >  *** caught segfault *** address (nil), cause 'unknown'
> >
> >     > Traceback: 1: NextMethod(.Generic) 2:
> >     > Ops.numeric_version(R_version_built_under, "3.0.0") 3:
> >     > testRversion(pkgInfo, package, pkgpath) 4:
> >     > library(package, lib.loc = lib.loc, character.only = TRUE,
> >     > logical.return = TRUE, warn.conflicts = warn.conflicts,
> >     > quietly = quietly, mask.ok = mask.ok, exclude = exclude,
> >     > include.only = include.only, attach.required =
> >     > attach.required) 5: doTryCatch(return(expr), name,
> >     > parentenv, handler) 6: tryCatchOne(expr, names, parentenv,
> >     > handlers[[1L]]) 7: tryCatchList(expr, classes, parentenv,
> >     > handlers) 8: tryCatch(library(package, lib.loc = lib.loc,
> >     > character.only = TRUE, logical.return = TRUE,
> >     > warn.conflicts = warn.conflicts, quietly = quietly,
> >     > mask.ok = mask.ok, exclude = exclude, include.only =
> >     > include.only, attach.required = attach.required), error =
> >     > function(e) e) 9: require(pkg, quietly = TRUE,
> >     > warn.conflicts = FALSE, character.only = TRUE) 10:
> >     > .OptRequireMethods()
> >
> >     > Possible actions: 1: abort (with core dump, if enabled) 2:
> >     > normal R exit 3: exit R without saving workspace 4: exit R
> >     > saving workspace Selection: Error in
> >     > doWithOneRestart(return(), restart) : not a proper file
> >     > name
> >
> >     > R version 3.6.3 (2020-02-29) -- "Holding the Windsock"
> >     > Copyright (C) 2020 The R Foundation for Statistical
> >     > Computing Platform: x86_64-pc-linux-gnu (64-bit)
> >
> >     > R is free software and comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY.
> >     > You are welcome to redistribute it under certain
> >     > conditions.  Type 'license()' or 'licence()' for
> >     > distribution details.
> >
> >     >   Natural language support but running in an English
> >     > locale
> >
> >     > R is a collaborative project with many contributors.  Type
> >     > 'contributors()' for more information and 'citation()' on
> >     > how to cite R or R packages in publications.
> >
> >     > Type 'demo()' for some demos, 'help()' for on-line help,
> >     > or 'help.start()' for an HTML browser interface to help.
> >     > Type 'q()' to quit R.
> >
> >     > Error: not a proper file name Error in
> >     > doWithOneRestart(return(), restart) : promise already
> >     > under evaluation: recursive default argument reference or
> >     > earlier problems?  Error in tryCatchOne(, names,
> >     > parentenv, handlers[[1L]]) : promise already under
> >     > evaluation: recursive default argument reference or
> >     > earlier problems?  Error: not a proper file name Fatal
> >     > error: unable to initialize the JIT
> >
> >     > ----------------- snip
> >     > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >     > Thank you, Ashim
> >
> >     > ______________________________________________
> >     > R-help using r-project.org mailing list -- To UNSUBSCRIBE and
> >     > more, see https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> >     > PLEASE do read the posting guide
> >     > http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html and provide
> >     > commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>
> ______________________________________________
> R-help using r-project.org mailing list -- To UNSUBSCRIBE and more, see
> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> PLEASE do read the posting guide http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
> and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.



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