Bug in lmer?
I am using version 0.98-7 of the Matrix package. I used the RGui "Install Packages..." menu option to get the lme4 package from CRAN and this version of the Matrix was automatically downloaded as well.
Martin Maechler wrote:
"Mark" == Mark Lyman <mlyman at byu.edu>
on Thu, 29 Sep 2005 14:44:38 -0600 writes:
Mark> I am relatively new to R so I am not confident enough in what I am doing
Mark> to be certain this is a bug.
Mark> I am running R 2.1.1 on a Windows XP
Mark> machine and the lme4 package version 0.98-1.
lme4 nowadays is heavily based on "Matrix" which version are you
using there?
Mark> The following code fits the model I want using the
Mark> nlme package version 3.1-60.
< .............. > {see a script at the end}
Mark> The problem is that when I try fitting the model using
Mark> the lmer function with the following code:
Mark> lmer(adg~trt+(1|loc)+(1|block:loc)+(1|loc:trt),mltloc)
Mark> I get this message from Windows and R closes.
Mark> >> R for Windows GUI front-end has encountered a problem and needs to
Mark> >> close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
That definitely means there is a bug.
The question is *where* the bug is: "lme4", "Matrix", "R", "Windows".
One first thing coming to mind is a mismatch of "lme4" and "Matri
Mark> This same code works on a Macintosh. So it doesn't
Mark> seem that I have made an error in my code.
correct; I can also fit the model nice and quickly on Linux,
and summary() confirms the same fit {with the "usual problem" of
different estimates for the degrees of freedoms 'df'}.
So currently the bug only shows on the Windows platform.
Could it be that you have a mismatching package "Matrix" version
there, but not on the Mac?
Mark> Also if anyone of the random effect terms is removed there is
Mark> no problem. Is this something that is being looked at?
not yet, AFAIK.
Mark> Or I have I made a mistake somewhere? I have included
Mark> the data that I am using below.
I'm putting the data and an R script up for FTP,
so that you or others can run this ``from anywhere'' via
source("ftp://stat.ethz.ch/U/maechler/R/mltloc-ex.R", echo = TRUE)
Maybe this helps diagnosis,
Martin Maechler