[R-sig-Debian] Upgrading R packages on Etch

[Dirk Eddelbuettel]

Ted,

On 10 November 2009 at 08:39, (Ted Harding) wrote:
| Greetings,
| I've been trying to upgrade R packages on my Debian Etch
| (whose other upgrades I have been cheerfully going along
| with as they occur).
| 
| When I did, just now:
| 
|   sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
| 
| I got:
| 
|   Reading package lists... Done
|   Building dependency tree... Done
|   Calculating upgrade... Done
|   The following packages have been kept back:
|     r-base-core r-cran-boot r-cran-cluster r-cran-codetools
|     r-cran-kernsmooth r-cran-lattice r-cran-matrix r-cran-mgcv
|     r-cran-nlme r-cran-rpart r-cran-survival r-cran-vr
|     r-recommended
|   0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 13 not upgraded.
| 
| And the same failure to install these R packages occurs when I
| try it from the update-manager or from synaptic.
| 
| In short, it's not going to upgrade any of those!
| 
| I can't find any indication of a reason why it won't upgrade
| these, beyond the following message from update-manager:
| 
|   Some updates require the removal of further software.
|   Use the function "Mark All Upgrades" of the package manager
|   "Synaptic" or run "sudo apt-get dist-upgrade" in a terminal
|   to update your system completely.
| 
|   The following upgrades will be skipped:
|   [Same list as above]
| 
| The "Mark All Upgrades" suggestion for synaptic didn't seem
| to do anything.
| 
| So I'm stuck. Any advice/information/suggestions?

Use a different command if the one you currently use hides information from
you, so try 'sudo apt-get install r-base-core'. That _will_ show the cause,
and you _still_ have a chance to back out by saying 'No' to the 'do you
really want to do this' question.

| PS: I am *very reluctant* to attempt replacing my Debian Etch
| with Debian Lenny (the latest). This system works as it is!
| Also, I am not an in-depth expert on how Debian's package
| management works.

You are of course entitled to your very own paranoia.  Some people are afraid
of the dark, others are afraid of spiders etc pp. Do we consider any of those
fears to be reasonable?

More seriously, the point of the CRAN backports is _precisely_ to give you
current R versions without scaring you and the little children standing
behind you as it won't require lenny.

Deal?

Dirk, who upgrades his Debian testing system daily

-- 
Three out of two people have difficulties with fractions.