[Rd] RFC install.packages() changes

[Prof Brian Ripley]

On Sun, 7 Nov 2004, Kjetil Brinchmann Halvorsen wrote:

> Prof Brian Ripley wrote:
> 
> >install/update.packages() in R-devel has been enhanced in a few ways,
> >notably to handle multiple repositories, and to allow packages to be 
> >reinstalled under the current version of R.
> >
> >1) Currently they will ask if you want to delete the downloaded files (if 
> >any) *provided* destdir was not specified.  In that case it uses a 
> >subdirectory of the per-session temporary directory, so the files will be 
> >deleted at the end of the R session anyway.
> >
> >We had a request to make the questioning optional.  I propose to remove it 
> >altogether, and either
> >
> >a) delete the downloaded files at the end of install.packages or
> >b) leave them in the per-session directory to be deleted at the end of the 
> >session.
> >
> >that is to force answer 'y' or 'n' respectively.  Does anyone see any 
> >problems with a)?
> >
> >  
> >
> I would prefer b), as I am downloading from the Rgui menu and then moves 
> downloaded packages
> to a c:\download... area which I use to burn CD-roms I distribute to 
> many people. If  a) is choosen I guess
> I could learn to use it from the command line, though. What is the 
> problem with b)?

Potentially leaving 1Gb or so of files in a temporary directory. So 
probably no big deal.

Brian

-- 
Brian D. Ripley,                  ripley at stats.ox.ac.uk
Professor of Applied Statistics,  http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~ripley/
University of Oxford,             Tel:  +44 1865 272861 (self)
1 South Parks Road,                     +44 1865 272866 (PA)
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