[R] update.packages on MS Windows with //server/share paths

[Keith Jewell]

Hi,

> update.packages(ask='graphics')

  gives me  multiple warning (one per updated package?) similar to ...

Warning: unable to move temporary installation 
'\\Server02\stats\R\library\2.10\file3de56e0d\locfit' to 
'\\Server02\stats\R\library\2.10\locfit'

The final, updated, folders do not end up where they should be. I can move 
them 'by hand', but it is an inconvenience.

Checking the archives I find 
http://finzi.psych.upenn.edu/Rhelp08/2008-April/160963.html where Prof 
Ripley opines "The issue appears to be that your OS is garbling file names", 
and it surely does seem to be a filename problem - in combination R and 
Windows don't seem to be handling the '//server/share' path construction. I 
have:
> .libPaths()
[1] "//Server02/stats/R/library/2.10" 
"//Server02/stats/R/R-Current/library"

I can work around by mapping a drive letter to the '//server/share', but 
prefer not to (for local reasons).

In CHANGES.R-2.10.1pat I find
  CHANGES IN R VERSION 2.7.2 patched
    o dir.create(recursive = TRUE) was not working on //server/share  paths.

In CHANGES.R-2.11.0dev I find
      CHANGES IN R VERSION 2.11.0
NEW FEATURES
    o file.rename() can work across volumes (by copy-and-delete)

In another R function I've hit a similar problem and solved it using the 
construction:
      file.path(dirname(x), basename(x))
to convert  '//server/share' to (printed as) '\\\\server/share' which worked 
in that function. In this case:
> file.path(dirname(.libPaths()), basename(.libPaths()))
[1] "\\\\Server02/stats/R/library/2.10" 
"\\\\Server02/stats/R/R-Current/library"
which looks OK but
> .libPaths(file.path(dirname(.libPaths()), basename(.libPaths())))
> .libPaths()
[1] "//Server02/stats/R/library/2.10" 
"//Server02/stats/R/R-Current/library"
doesn't actually change the internal paths.

I don't see the problem in V2.9.2 .
I do see the problem in
   V2.10.1,
   V2.10.1 Patched (2010-01-24 r51030)
   V2.11.0 Under development (unstable) (2010-01-24 r51030)

Grateful for any suggestions,

Keith Jewell
-----------------------------------------------------
Version:
 platform = i386-pc-mingw32
 arch = i386
 os = mingw32
 system = i386, mingw32
 status = Patched
 major = 2
 minor = 10.1
 year = 2010
 month = 01
 day = 24
 svn rev = 51030
 language = R
 version.string = R version 2.10.1 Patched (2010-01-24 r51030)

Windows Server 2003 x64 (build 3790) Service Pack 2

Locale:
LC_COLLATE=English_United Kingdom.1252;LC_CTYPE=English_United 
Kingdom.1252;LC_MONETARY=English_United 
Kingdom.1252;LC_NUMERIC=C;LC_TIME=English_United Kingdom.1252

Search Path:
 .GlobalEnv, package:stats, package:graphics, package:grDevices, 
package:utils, package:datasets, package:methods, Autoloads, package:base