3 messages · Jeroen Ooms, Brian Ripley
Is there a way in R (in Linux) to detect the type of a file without invoking a shell? E.g to do this:
system("file density.plot")
density.plot: PDF document, version 1.4 but without using system()? I tried file() and file.info(), but both do display the information I am looking for. -- View this message in context: http://r.789695.n4.nabble.com/detect-filetype-as-in-unix-file-tp3424562p3424562.html Sent from the R help mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
Is there a way in R (in Linux) to detect the type of a file without invoking a shell? E.g to do this:
system("file density.plot")
density.plot: PDF document, version 1.4 but without using system()? I tried file() and file.info(), but both do display the information I am looking for.
No, but what is wrong with using system()? 'file' is large and complex because it tries to be comprehensive (but it still does not know about some common systems, e.g. 64-bit Windows binaries). There simply is no point in replicating that in R: which is why we chose rather to port 'file' to Windows and provide in in Rools.
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
No, but what is wrong with using system()?
The application is running in a very sandboxed environment and might not have permission to execute 'file'.
'file' is large and complex because it tries to be comprehensive (but it still does not know about some common systems, e.g. 64-bit Windows binaries). ?There simply is no point in replicating that in R: which is why we chose rather to port 'file' to Windows and provide in in Rools.
Alright that makes sense, thanks.