[GRASS-stats] GRASS can't find R packages from personal library on Windows

[Roger Bivand]

On Thu, 17 Nov 2016, Roger Bivand wrote:

> On Thu, 17 Nov 2016, Helmut Kudrnovsky wrote:
>
>> >  My Windows 7, GRASS 7.0.4 shows identical .libPaths() values both inside
>> >  and out with RGui. I don't know how the location of the personal library
>> >  folder is recorded - is it in the registry? How might one know? It looks
>> >  like:
>> > 
>> >  Sys.getenv("R_LIBS_USER") 
>>
>>  tested within a winGRASS7.0.5 session:
>> 
>> >  Sys.getenv("R_LIBS_USER")
>>  [1] "C:\\Users\\test/R/win-library/3.3"
>> >  .libPaths()
>>  [1] "C:/Program Files/R/R-3.3.1/library"
>>
>>  R_LIBS_USER is listed there within the winGRASS session, but the path
>>  itself
>>  looks odd.
>
> Unfortunately, I couldn't reproduce this with stand-alone GRASS 7.0.5 or 7.2, 
> Windows 7 Pro, R 3.3.2. I see the same .libPaths() values inside and outside. 
> But see below - I found out how to reproduce the problem predictably.
>
> The reason was (of course) that I'd forgotten that I had set R_LIBS_USER in 
> Control Panel -> System and Security -> System -> Advanced system settings -> 
> Environment Variables. I'd done this as a response to the extra work caused 
> at each annual change of the default address as R's version was incremented. 
> See also:
>
> https://stat.ethz.ch/R-manual/R-devel/library/base/html/libPaths.html
>
> So a workaround might to use the R_LIBS_USER environment variable in that 
> setting, checking that the directory exists. R uses it internally as 
> generated, but doesn't export it. I don't know how this plays cross-platform.

In a context with Windows 7 without setting the R_LIBS_USER environment 
variable, R outside GRASS reports:

> Sys.getenv("HOME")
[1] "C:\\Users\\rsb\\Documents"
> .libPaths()
[1] "C:/Users/rsb/Documents/R/win-library/3.3"
[2] "C:/Program Files/R/R-3.3.2/library"

but inside GRASS %HOME% is re-defined, so:

> Sys.getenv("HOME")
[1] "C:\\Users\\rsb"
> .libPaths()
[1] "c:/Program Files/R/R-3.3.2/library"

as R cannot construct: subdirectory ‘R/win-library/x.y’ of the home 
directory, for R x.y.z, because "C:\\Users\\rsb/R/win-library/x.y" does 
not exist, and that is where R is looking (here in GRASS):

> Sys.getenv("R_LIBS_USER")
[1] "C:\\Users\\rsb/R/win-library/3.3"

(the different dirseps do not matter).

Does WinGRASS need to change the HOME environment variable? If it does, 
users of R in GRASS need to set R_LIBS or R_LIBS_USER, easiest once via 
Control Panel.

Roger

>
> Best wishes,
>
> Roger
>
>>
>>  outside a winGRASS7.0.5/7.2.svn session, everthing is ok with these
>>  variables (see above).
>> 
>> 
>>
>>  -----
>>  best regards
>>  Helmut
>>  --
>>  View this message in context:
>>  http://osgeo-org.1560.x6.nabble.com/GRASS-can-t-find-R-packages-from-personal-library-on-Windows-tp5295771p5296239.html
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>
>

-- 
Roger Bivand
Department of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics,
Helleveien 30, N-5045 Bergen, Norway.
voice: +47 55 95 93 55; fax +47 55 95 91 00
e-mail: Roger.Bivand at nhh.no
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2392-6140
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