[R] RSiteSearch for words ``as one entity''.

[Prof Brian Ripley]

It transpires that this is really messy: Namazu does not in general accept 
encoded URLs. (They seem to work for query= but not for sort= !)  So

RSiteSearch(URLencode("{logistic regression}"))

might be a solution, but toUrl(qs2) is not (in general).

On Thu, 11 Sep 2008, Prof Brian Ripley wrote:

> If firefox is involved on a Mac, that is one difference.  My Mac is using 
> 'open' (the default, I believe) and that is calling Safari (the default, I 
> believe).
>
> Yes, it would be the job of browseURL to encode URLs where required.  But at 
> least on Windows and using the -remoteURL mechanism (as on Linux) it is not. 
> R itself does have URLencode.
>
> On Thu, 11 Sep 2008, Rolf Turner wrote:
>
>> 
>> On 11/09/2008, at 10:09 AM, Marc Schwartz wrote:
>>
>> 	<snip>
>> 
>>> As Prof. Ripley noted, try using debug(RSiteSearch) and then step
>>> through the code to see where $HOME is being added to the URL variable.
>>> That can help pin it down further. If the URL is not corrupted by the
>>> time browseURL() is called, then use debug(browseURL) to trace within
>>> that function to see if something is happening there.
>>
>> 	I have done some digging.  When I do:
>>
>> 	RSiteSearch("logistic regression")
>>
>> 	the RSiteSearch() function calls browseURL(qstring) where qstring is 
>> qs1 equal to
>>
>> 	"http://search.r-project.org/cgi-bin/namazu.cgi?query=logistic+regression&max=20&result=normal&sort=score&idxname=Rhelp02a&idxname=functions&idxname=docs"
>> 
>>
>> 	Similarly when I do RSiteSearch("{logistic regression}") qstring is 
>> qs2 equal to
>>
>> 	"http://search.r-project.org/cgi-bin/namazu.cgi?query={logistic+regression}&max=20&result=normal&sort=score&idxname=Rhelp02a&idxname=functions&idxname=docs"
>>
>> 	i.e. the same except for the braces.
>>
>> 	If I do browseURL(qs1) outside of RSiteSearch() it works as expected.
>> 	If I do browseURL(qs2) I get the error.
>>
>> 	Inside browseURL I find that it calls
>>
>> 	system(paste(browser, remoteCmd, "> /dev/null 2>&1 ||", browser, 
>> quotedUrl, "&"))
>>
>> 	and browser is "/usr/bin/open", remoteCmd is the qstring with the 
>> opening and closing
>> 	quote marks attached (escaped with a ``\'') amd quotedUrl is the 
>> same.  This is true
>> 	irrespective of which qstring (qs1 or qs2 is used).
>>
>> 	Note that the double backslash shows up in remoteCmd == quotedUrl at 
>> this stage.
>>
>> 	Finally I put the system command into a file ``junk'' and from the 
>> command window
>> 	(outside R) executed ``sh junk''.
>>
>> 	With the braces around ``logistic regression'' I can the same error 
>> message that
>> 	I got in R.  When I simply edited out the braces, the Firefox window 
>> opened at
>> 	the appropriate URL.  So the problem is in those braces and the 
>> single/double
>> 	backslash at the start was a red herring.
>>
>> 	Finally, while I was doing all this I got Henrik Bengtsson's message, 
>> and tried
>> 	his suggestion:
>>
>> 	library(R.utils)
>> 	browseURL(toUrl(qs2))
>>
>> 	and BINGO!!! that worked.  (Thanks very much, Henrik.)
>>
>> 	It's still mysterious why the braces have their deleterious impact on 
>> my Mac
>> 	but do not have that impact on Professor Ripley's machine.  (But 
>> that's the
>> 	story of my life:  THEY always pick on ***me***! :-) )
>>
>> 	So my problem is solved --- via a workaround --- but there's still 
>> some vestigial
>> 	strangeness.
>>
>> 	Thanks to all who helped me, especially (again) to Henrik Bengtsson
>>
>> 		cheers,
>>
>> 			Rolf
>> 
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>
> -- 
> 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)
> Oxford OX1 3TG, UK                Fax:  +44 1865 272595
>

-- 
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)
Oxford OX1 3TG, UK                Fax:  +44 1865 272595