[R-SIG-Mac] automating some tasks

[Denis Chabot]

Hi, I have a few questions as a new user to R and some wishes for the 
interface.

First, is a way to specify which packages should be opened 
automatically when one starts R? Ideally a pane of the preferences 
would show the packages that are installed, like the "Packages/Package 
Manager" command does, but the boxes that would be checked there would 
be remembered and this list would be opened each time R starts. 
Obviously this is not implemented now, so is there an alternative that 
exists now, maybe a command file that is automatically read when R 
starts and where I could specify packages to be loaded automatically?

Second, I don't know what to think of the Help menu. Because I got no 
result from using it except a slowing down of my computer, I opened the 
Process Viewer (I think it is called this in English, it is Moniteur 
d'activité in French). I should precise that I am working on a 700 MHz 
iMac with 768 Mo RAM and OS X 10.3.4. With no application other than 
Finder, Mail, and Process Viewer, around 90% of the Processor Time is 
available. Launching R does not change this much.

For this test, the first thing I did in R was selecting "Help/R Help", 
the R Console says this:

 > help.start()
Making links in per-session dir ...
If /usr/bin/open is already running, it is *not* restarted, and you 
must switch to its window.
Otherwise, be patient ...
 >

But nothing else of use happens. What is /usr/bin/open? How can I 
switch to its window? There is not a Open application that appears in 
the dock for me to switch to its window.
At this point my Mac becomes sluggish, the processor activity jumped 
from about 10 to 100%, and the two culprit are kernel_task (user Root) 
and Open (user chabotd), with each about 45% of CPU time. Quitting R 
does not stop these tasks. Indeed, after restarting R and choosing Help 
again, I now have one kernel_task but two Open tasks! And still no 
help!

I also tried the "Help/R for Mac OS X FAQ", but all that did is start 
the hated rainbow spinning ball. This opened another "Open task". while 
I typed this paragraph, R froze and I cannot go back to it, I can only 
force quit it. I just did but the kernel_Task and the two Open tasks 
still hug my CPU, so I'll have to force quite them as well!

I don't know Process Viewer very well, but it has an export button. If 
you are interested, I used this button before launching Help from R and 
after. I opened those plist files with TextWrangler and the information 
is not in a format I can use easily, but maybe it is usable by whoever 
will look in this matter. I will be pleased to email these 2 files on 
request.

Is Help working better for others or is this just a growing pain of the 
new Aqua interface for R?

Thanks in advance,

Sincerely,

Denis Chabot