[R-sig-Debian] R slower after etch->lenny upgrade

[Gary Hodges]

Gary Hodges wrote:
> Hi.  Last week I updated from 32 bit etch to 32 bit lenny on an AMD SMP 
> machine.  I first cloned the system disk to an identical drive, and 
> updated the cloned drive.  I still have the etch install untouched on 
> the previous drive, which has allowed me to do some testing.  After the 
> update R has slowed down significantly.  A user brought this to my 
> attention, and at this point we have only tested one script (multiple 
> times, different days).
> 
> etch -> 48 seconds
> lenny-> 4 min 5 sec
> 
> I compiled a kernel on both etch and lenny to see if there was a 
> comparable slow down.
> 
> etch -> 45 min
> lenny -> 47 min 35 sec
> 
> So, the kernel compile is a a little slower on lenny.
> 
> During the upgrade there was an error of some sort about updating the 
> following packages:
> r-base-core
> r-cran-kernsmooth
> r-cran-mgev
> r-cran-cluster
> 
> I deleted those packages and continued with the upgrade.  When the 
> upgrade was finished, I reinstalled those packages.  Other than that 
> minor issue, the upgrade went really smooth.  Cheers, Gary

Update:  We just tried something a little different.  My colleague's 
script writes output to the screen.  I suggested writing to pdf files 
instead and it ran much faster; comparable to the speeds on etch.  So at 
this point I'm guessing this is not a R issue per se, but an issue with 
graphics.