R 2.2.0 on Etch

[ Gentle reminder: Posting here is open only for subscribers. I had to
  manually approve this post. --edd ]

| Hi All,
| 
| is there a ETA for R 2.2.0 on Etch (Debian testing) or do I need pinning

The best answers to questions like this for any given package are provided by
the (source) packages QA page, here
	http://packages.qa.debian.org/r/r-base.html
which both summarizes, and links to, the 'excuses' pages
	http://qa.debian.org/developer.php?excuse=r-base
which indicate that the recent rebuild of r-base (due to a bug on hppa
machines) reset the 10-day counter.  

There is also the more specialised page 'Why is ppackage X not in testing
yet' at 
	http://bjorn.haxx.se/debian/testing.pl?package=r-base

| pinning (a solution I'd rather not use)?

That fear is unfounded. Pinning works well as _you_ get to select what you
included.  The 2.2.0.final-4 build requires a upgrade of gcc/g++ et al to one
minor number, but the otherwise identical 2.2.0.final-2 installed and runs 
just fine on testing.

Lastly, if you're really afraid of pinning, you could still point to sources
from unstable and the use 'apt-get source r-base' to rebuild the new sources
on your current system.  But I'd go with pinning.

Hth, Dirk

Statistics: The (futile) attempt to offer certainty about uncertainty.
         -- Roger Koenker, 'Dictionary of Received Ideas of Statistics'