Building packages on Windows fails

What has changed in R for Windows from version 1.7.1 to
2.2.0 that won't allow me to build binary packages?

On 1.7.1 I built a packge with this command:

   Rcmd build --force --binary iL04

On 2.2.0 this fails. First I had to copy sh.exe from d:\bin to
c:\bin. This got me over the first hurdle. But then I got stuck
at a later point. Here are the last lines of output:

---------- Making package iL04 ------------
latex: not found
 adding build stamp to DESCRIPTION
latex: not found
latex: not found
latex: not found
 installing R files
latex: not found
 installing demos
 installing data files
latex: not found
 installing man source files
 installing indices
cat: d:/R-2.2.0/library/*/CONTENTS: No such file or directory
make[2]: *** [indices] Error 1
make[1]: *** [all] Error 2
make: *** [pkg-iL04] Error 2
*** Installation of iL04 failed ***

-- 
Peter Kleiweg

On Fri, 7 Oct 2005, Peter Kleiweg wrote:

What has changed in R for Windows from version 1.7.1 to
2.2.0 that won't allow me to build binary packages?

Many things have changed; I don't know which is causing the failure you see.
One change is that instructions are now collected in the Installation and
Administration manual. Try following the setup instructions there and see if
it still fails.

---------- Making package iL04 ------------
 adding build stamp to DESCRIPTION
 installing R files
 installing demos
 installing data files
 installing man source files
 installing indices
cat: d:/R-2.2.0/library/*/CONTENTS: No such file or directory
make[2]: *** [indices] Error 1
make[1]: *** [all] Error 2
make: *** [pkg-iL04] Error 2
*** Installation of iL04 failed ***

Duncan Murdoch schreef op de 6e dag van de wijnmaand van het jaar 2005:

On Fri, 7 Oct 2005, Peter Kleiweg wrote:

What has changed in R for Windows from version 1.7.1 to
2.2.0 that won't allow me to build binary packages?

Many things have changed; I don't know which is causing the failure you see.
One change is that instructions are now collected in the Installation and
Administration manual. Try following the setup instructions there and see if
it still fails.

I can't find anything on building packages for Windows in that
manual.

I did find a solution to the problem. On a Linux install, each
package has a file CONTENTS. These are missing from the Windows
install. I copied those files from my Linux install to my
Windows install, and then I could build my own package. So I
guess, these CONTENTS files should be included in the Windows
install.

I got another error message when I remove a package, but I
couldn't see what effect this error has. When I run:

   d:\>Rcmd REMOVE iL04

The package gets removed, but I get:

   make: *** No rule to make target `indices'.  Stop.

On Fri, 7 Oct 2005, Peter Kleiweg wrote:

Duncan Murdoch schreef op de 6e dag van de wijnmaand van het jaar 2005:

On Fri, 7 Oct 2005, Peter Kleiweg wrote:

What has changed in R for Windows from version 1.7.1 to 
2.2.0 that won't allow me to build binary packages?

Many things have changed; I don't know which is causing 
the failure you see. One change is that instructions are 
now collected in the Installation and Administration 
manual. Try following the setup instructions there and see 
if it still fails.

I can't find anything on building packages for Windows in 
that manual.

Your problems was installing, so the section on `Installing 
Packages' should help you.

I did find a solution to the problem. On a Linux install, 
each package has a file CONTENTS. These are missing from the 
Windows install. I copied those files from my Linux install 
to my Windows install, and then I could build my own 
package. So I guess, these CONTENTS files should be included 
in the Windows install.

And indeed they are, as the presence of 500+ packages on CRAN 
for Windows will show you.

The recommended way to build a binary package on Windows is

R CMD INSTALL --build

Prof Brian Ripley schreef op de 7e dag van de wijnmaand van het jaar 2005:

On Fri, 7 Oct 2005, Peter Kleiweg wrote:

Duncan Murdoch schreef op de 6e dag van de wijnmaand van het jaar 2005:

On Fri, 7 Oct 2005, Peter Kleiweg wrote:

What has changed in R for Windows from version 1.7.1 to
2.2.0 that won't allow me to build binary packages?

Many things have changed; I don't know which is causing
the failure you see. One change is that instructions are
now collected in the Installation and Administration
manual. Try following the setup instructions there and see
if it still fails.

I can't find anything on building packages for Windows in
that manual.

Your problems was installing, so the section on `Installing
Packages' should help you.

Installing worked fine. Building a binary distribution (with
compiled help files) is what didn't work.

This worked fine:

   Rcmd build iL04

But that just gave a gzip'ed tarfile, not a zip-file, and
without the compiled helpfiles.

This didn't work:

   Rcmd build --force --binary iL04

I did find a solution to the problem. On a Linux install,
each package has a file CONTENTS. These are missing from the
Windows install. I copied those files from my Linux install
to my Windows install, and then I could build my own
package. So I guess, these CONTENTS files should be included
in the Windows install.

And indeed they are, as the presence of 500+ packages on CRAN
for Windows will show you.

Well, I just ran the install program for Windows, with compiled
html help, but without the ordinary html help files. In that
case, no CONTENTS files get installed.

The recommended way to build a binary package on Windows is

R CMD INSTALL --build

Yes, that works. Even without the CONTENTS files. And this is
recommended in the manual "Creating R packages", another manual
than Duncan Murdoch was referring to.

I was using a method that was recommended in earlier versions.
Perhaps that method should just be disabled, with a
message about the current method, instead of having it fail for
obscure reasons.

Prof Brian Ripley schreef op de 7e dag van de wijnmaand van het jaar 2005:

On Fri, 7 Oct 2005, Peter Kleiweg wrote:

Duncan Murdoch schreef op de 6e dag van de wijnmaand van het jaar 2005:

On Fri, 7 Oct 2005, Peter Kleiweg wrote:

What has changed in R for Windows from version 1.7.1 to 
2.2.0 that won't allow me to build binary packages?

Many things have changed; I don't know which is causing 
the failure you see. One change is that instructions are 
now collected in the Installation and Administration 
manual. Try following the setup instructions there and see 
if it still fails.

I can't find anything on building packages for Windows in 
that manual.

Your problems was installing, so the section on `Installing 
Packages' should help you.

Installing worked fine. Building a binary distribution (with 
compiled help files) is what didn't work.

This worked fine:

    Rcmd build iL04

But that just gave a gzip'ed tarfile, not a zip-file, and 
without the compiled helpfiles.

This didn't work:

    Rcmd build --force --binary iL04

I did find a solution to the problem. On a Linux install, 
each package has a file CONTENTS. These are missing from the 
Windows install. I copied those files from my Linux install 
to my Windows install, and then I could build my own 
package. So I guess, these CONTENTS files should be included 
in the Windows install.

And indeed they are, as the presence of 500+ packages on CRAN 
for Windows will show you.

Well, I just ran the install program for Windows, with compiled 
html help, but without the ordinary html help files. In that 
case, no CONTENTS files get installed.
 

The recommended way to build a binary package on Windows is

R CMD INSTALL --build

Yes, that works. Even without the CONTENTS files. And this is 
recommended in the manual "Creating R packages", another manual 
than Duncan Murdoch was referring to.

I was using a method that was recommended in earlier versions. 
Perhaps that method should just be disabled, with a 
message about the current method, instead of having it fail for 
obscure reasons.