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[R-gui] R GUI for Linux (using Java)

7 messages · Sander Oom, Dirk Eddelbuettel, M. Edward (Ed) Borasky +2 more

Original
Sander Oom
# 
Dear GJR(?),

Great initiative to start a platform independent GUI for R focussed on
Linux. I'm sure many users could benefit from this.

I have limited time for science, including R, since I started a job as a
consultant. However I am a member of the R GUI mailing list
(r-sig-gui at stat.math.ethz.ch). Send your messages to this mailing list,
and I am sure you will get helpful response. You will also get negative
responses! Some people are happy the way things are. Do not pay too much
attention to these and focus on the constructive critism. That will help
the make LinR a good program.

I would stick to the KISS principle. 'Keep it simple, stupid'
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KISS_Principle). A good editor with syntax
highlighting and commands to run R code in different ways. Stick to the
shortcut commands as used by other editors like KATE. A package manager
will be very useful. Be ware that ROOT priviliges are required!

If you would like to contribute to an existing program, than have a look
at JGR (http://rosuda.org/JGR):
JGR (speak 'Jaguar') is a universal and unified Graphical User Interface
for R (it actually abbreviates Java Gui for R). JGR was introduced at
the useR! meeting in 2004.
They seem to need support with the Linux port!

Is this just a coincidence with these letters J G R?

Hope this helps!

Sander.
gjr wrote:
Dirk Eddelbuettel
#
On 29 October 2006 at 17:50, Sander Oom wrote:
| Dear GJR(?),
| 
| Great initiative to start a platform independent GUI for R focussed on
| Linux. I'm sure many users could benefit from this.
| 
| I have limited time for science, including R, since I started a job as a
| consultant. However I am a member of the R GUI mailing list
| (r-sig-gui at stat.math.ethz.ch). Send your messages to this mailing list,
| and I am sure you will get helpful response. You will also get negative
| responses! Some people are happy the way things are. Do not pay too much
| attention to these and focus on the constructive critism. That will help
| the make LinR a good program.
| 
| I would stick to the KISS principle. 'Keep it simple, stupid'
| (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KISS_Principle). A good editor with syntax
| highlighting and commands to run R code in different ways. Stick to the
| shortcut commands as used by other editors like KATE. A package manager
| will be very useful. Be ware that ROOT priviliges are required!
| 
| If you would like to contribute to an existing program, than have a look
| at JGR (http://rosuda.org/JGR):
| JGR (speak 'Jaguar') is a universal and unified Graphical User Interface
| for R (it actually abbreviates Java Gui for R). JGR was introduced at
| the useR! meeting in 2004.
| They seem to need support with the Linux port!

I think you may be unaware that it installs and runs fine on a fully-featured
Linux distribution.  On Debian or Ubuntu, all you need to do is to install
the sun-java5-jdk (and to click once through the Java license thingie) as
well as a recent R such as r-base-core_2.4.1. After which all you need to is

$ sudo R CMD javareconf			# to set or refresh Java paths for R
$ echo "install.packages("JGR",repos="http://cran.r-project.org",depend=TRUE)"\
	| sudo R --slave

and you have a working JGR --- which happens to be a working 'R GUI for Linux
(using Java)" as per the Subject line :)

I am sure that a FC, SuSE, Gentoo, ... system can be setup similarly.

| Is this just a coincidence with these letters J G R?
| 
| Hope this helps!
| 
| Sander.
|
| gjr wrote:
| > Hello.
| > I've seen that You are interested in developing R GUI for Linux.
| > 
| > I'm a student and i'm angry at lack of full R-project linux port.

R has been developed and supported on Linux since "forever", i.e. the early
1990s. What exactly do you think is missing?

| > I decided to wrote something myself. Best choice is Java.
| > But i don't know what commponents add to this program.
| > I knot Tinn-R on Windows and i can take some ideas from.
| > But is it usable ?
| > I think things like hashing selected R code or sending only parts of code
| > is a standard. I would like to do a tool to easy manage of R packages.

Most of us are happy to send code snippets, regions, functions, buffers, ...
to R using ESS from (X)Emacs.  

A graphical package manager would be nice. JGR has one. 

RGtk2 (or was it John's pmg?) has basic examples for it. The logic is already
available inside R (install.packages(), available.packages(), etc) so I
wouldn't reinvent that wheel.

Dirk
M. Edward (Ed) Borasky
#
Dirk Eddelbuettel wrote:
1. What's the minimum Java required? Does it need the JDK or will the
JRE suffice?

2. Will it work with R-2.4.0, or do I need to have something more recent?

I can certainly test this all out and get it working on Gentoo. I have
both 1.4 and 1.5 JDK, but I'm using the "stock" R-2.4.0 and don't plan
to go beyond that until the next version gets into alpha testing.
Dirk Eddelbuettel
#
On 29 October 2006 at 10:10, M. Edward (Ed) Borasky wrote:
| Dirk Eddelbuettel wrote:
| > I think you may be unaware that it installs and runs fine on a fully-featured
| > Linux distribution.  On Debian or Ubuntu, all you need to do is to install
| > the sun-java5-jdk (and to click once through the Java license thingie) as
        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

That should answer question 1 below.

| > well as a recent R such as r-base-core_2.4.1. After which all you need to
                               ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sorry - bad typo. That should have r-base-core_2.4.0. 

| 1. What's the minimum Java required? Does it need the JDK or will the
| JRE suffice?

JDK.

| 2. Will it work with R-2.4.0, or do I need to have something more recent?

2.4.0 is fine.
 
| I can certainly test this all out and get it working on Gentoo. I have
| both 1.4 and 1.5 JDK, but I'm using the "stock" R-2.4.0 and don't plan
| to go beyond that until the next version gets into alpha testing.

I think 1.4 is fine but I am not sure. 1.5 works for me, and is pre-packaged
by Sun and Ubuntu/Debian.

Dirk
Adrian Dusa
# 
Dear Dirk,
On Sunday 29 October 2006 20:30, Dirk Eddelbuettel wrote:
I've been looking for r-base-core_2.4.0 for Ubuntu on CRAN... any chance to 
appear there soon? Kind of gave up on my habbit of compiling R from sources, 
I was hoping to use Synaptic to install the most recent version.

Thanks,
Adrian
Dirk Eddelbuettel
# 
Adrian,
On 30 October 2006 at 12:42, Adrian Dusa wrote:
| Dear Dirk,
|
| On Sunday 29 October 2006 20:30, Dirk Eddelbuettel wrote:
| > [...snip...]
| > | > well as a recent R such as r-base-core_2.4.1. After which all you need
| > | > to
| >                                ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| > Sorry - bad typo. That should have r-base-core_2.4.0.
| 
| I've been looking for r-base-core_2.4.0 for Ubuntu on CRAN... any chance to 
| appear there soon? Kind of gave up on my habbit of compiling R from sources, 
| I was hoping to use Synaptic to install the most recent version.

I am actually not the volunteer in charge of that, see the R FAQ for details.
It is also the wrong list as r-sig-debian is more on topic.  CC'ed and MFT
set accordingly.

Hth, Dirk