[R] need help for building R in Ubuntu 8.04

[Martin Maechler]

>>>>> "DE" == Dirk Eddelbuettel <edd at debian.org>
>>>>>     on Wed, 28 May 2008 12:46:50 +0000 writes:

    DE> On Wed, May 28, 2008 at 02:29:10PM +0200, Martin
    DE> Maechler wrote:
    >> >>>>> "EH" == Erin Hodgess <erinm.hodgess at gmail.com>
    >> >>>>> on Sun, 25 May 2008 13:27:04 -0500 writes:
    >> 
    EH> Try: ./configure --with-x=no
    >> 
    >> well......  no!  really don't.

    DE> Seconded.

    DE> At best this qualified for the 'then do not do it'
    DE> school of advice to the 'it hurts when I do this'.  But
    DE> it truly missed the underlying issue. See below.

    >> If you want to enjoy a Linux system and building from the
    >> source, and then maybe learn how that is happening,
    >> learning about shell scripts and 'make' and ...  then
    >> rather do get the extra ubuntu packages needed.

    DE> Or if you 'just' want to run it, install Ubuntu and
    DE> learn to take advantage of the work of others.

indeed.

    >> The advice (below) to get the 'xorg-dev' is definitely
    >> good advice. I have it on the list of packages I'd always
    >> want to install in addition to the basic ubuntu/debian
    >> list.
    >> 
    >> But you most probably will find that you need a few more
    >> tools / libraries / headers for your ubuntu system such
    >> that you can build R with all the bells and whistles
    >> possible.
    >> 
    >> There's the Debian (and "hence" Ubuntu) package
    >> 'r-base-dev' which contains 'r-base' (i.e. a *binary*
    >> version of R; the one Dirk Eddelbuettel mentioned), but
    >> also most of the compilers/libraries/... that you'd want
    >> to build R from the sources.

    DE> Just to be a bit more precise:

    DE> i) 'apt-get install r-base' will get you r-base-core and
    DE> all the recommended packages --- use this if you want to
    DE> _run_ R

    DE> ii) 'apt-get install r-base-dev' will get all the common
    DE> header files, as well as r-base-core use this if you
    DE> _also want to build / install R packages_ incl from CRAN

    DE> iii) 'apt-get build-dep r-base' will get you _build
    DE> dependencies_ for R and is probably what Martin wanted
    DE> here.

Yes, indeed, thanks, Dirk!

Martin learns about  'apt-get build-dep' about
every two years, and a year later when he would need it, has
forgotten... :-)

    >> Last time I did get 'r-base-dev' on a "virgin" ubuntu
    >> system, I vaguely remember that it did not contain
    >> *really* all the tools I'd wanted, but almost all.

    DE> Bug reports are always welcome and a more constructive
    DE> form of moving things forward than an off-hand comment
    DE> here :-) Note that I tend not to get the ones filed
    DE> against Ubuntu so file against Debian please.

    >> e.g., you may also want the two packages
    >> 
    >> tcl8.4-dev tk8.4-dev

    DE> Just curious: what did you need them for ? In case you
    DE> wanted to build R, see iii) above as a possibly more
    DE> focussed way to get there.

yes, indeed.
Martin

    DE> Dirk

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