[R-sig-Debian] Moving to R 3.0.0 on Ubuntu

[Michael Rutter]

This is a post I just added to my Ubuntu R Blog 
(http://www.personal.psu.edu/mar36/blogs/the_ubuntu_r_blog/2013/03/moving-to-r-300-on-ubuntu.html).

As you may (or may not) be aware of, R 3.0.0 is [scheduled to be 
released](http://www.r-project.org/) on April 3rd.  Since this is a 
major release and there may be some growing pains (but I hope not) in 
the move 3.0.0, here is some information about how I will handle R 3.0.0 
on CRAN and my PPAs for Ubuntu.

**All packages must be rebuilt for R 3.0.0**

Any installed packages you are currently using will have to be rebuilt 
using R 3.0.0.  This could lead to some issues, especially is you are 
using the Ubuntu binaries on CRAN or my PPA.  I will try to minimize 
these issues.

**CRAN and RRutter PPA are now frozen to R 2.15.3 (with one exception)**

Since many users would probably be alarmed to have production machines 
upgrade to R 3.0.0 without testing to see if any thing breaks, the 
packages on [CRAN](http://cran.us.r-project.org/bin/linux/ubuntu/) and 
the [RRutter PPA](https://launchpad.net/~marutter/+archive/rrutter) will 
not be updated anymore.  This means R is frozen with version 2.15.3 and 
the packages available will not be updated on CRAN or the RRutter PPA 
for now.

At some point, likely around May 1st, I will move CRAN and the RRutter 
PPA to version 3.0.0.  This should give users plenty of time to remove 
those repositories from apt so the upgrades do not occur.  I will warn 
everyone when I am about to do this.

The one exception to this rule will be the forth coming Ubuntu 13.04 
(Raring Ringtail).  When I add this release to CRAN and the PPA, I will 
be using R 3.0.0 and packages built against 3.0.0.

**R 3.0.0 and recommended packages will be available on RDev PPA**

If you do want to upgrade R to 3.0.0, you can use my [RDdev 
PPA](https://launchpad.net/~marutter/+archive/rdev).  This will have the 
latest version of R and the recommended packages built against it. 
Instructions on how to install the PPA are available at the  [RDdev 
PPA](https://launchpad.net/~marutter/+archive/rdev) webpage.  As of 
right now, only 12.10 (quantal) builds are available, but others will be 
added when bugs are worked out.  Please, do not have the RDev PPA and 
(CRAN or RRutter PPA) enabled at the same time, as that could cause issues.

**What about c2d4u?**

Excellent question.

**Stopping support for Hardy and Oneiric**

Both Hardy (8.04) and Oneiric (11.10) are ending support in April 2013. 
  Therefore, I will not be updating any version of R for these releases. 
  I, for one, am happy to finally be able to rid myself of the albatross 
(or should I say heron) that is Hardy.  I will not delete these files 
for a while, but there will be no further updates.  Support for Lucid 
(10.04) will continue until April 2015 or until something becomes very 
broken.

**Are you sure you don't have anything to say about c2d4u?**

[c2d4u](https://launchpad.net/~marutter/+archive/c2d4u) is an ambitious 
project that houses over 1000 packages for R as Ubuntu binaries that can 
be installed via apt or synaptic.  You should really check it out. It 
has great packages like RCpp and ggplot2, among others.

My first priority will be is to build all the packages for Ubuntu 13.04 
(Raring Ringtail) using R 3.0.0.  After that is complete, I will start 
rebuilding the packages for 12.04 (Precise), the latest LTS, against 
3.0.0.  If I still have any patience left, I will convert the 12.10 
(Quantal) packages over.

If you have any questions, please email me.

Michael
-- 
Dr. Michael A. Rutter
School of Science
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
Station Road
Erie, PA 16563
http://math.bd.psu.edu/faculty/rutter