[R] I am surprised (and a little irritated)

[Brett Magill]

Better yet, forget reading the SUSE manual.  For a user at your level 
who wants to begin with Linux, but also wants a system that "just works" 
use Ubuntu.  It is Debian based with the convenient apt-get installation 
system and very user-friendly.

Brett

www.ubuntu.com

Gabor Csardi wrote:
> Tom,
> 
> I'm irritated as well. Your email should go to some suse mailing list, 
> this is a suse problem, it has (almost) nothing to do with R.
> 
> Unfortunately i can't help you (even if i wanted), because i don't want to
> read the suse manuals. But if you want to use suse you may consider reading
> them.
> 
> Gabor
> 
> On Wed, Apr 19, 2006 at 09:05:22PM +0200, Tom Backer Johnsen wrote:
>> I have started with using R on Windows, and I am really happy about 
>> the system.  Now, one of my other ambitions is to learn how to use 
>> Linux, so yesterday I downloaded OpenSuse and installed that.  The 
>> next problem was to try to use R with Linux.  And there I met the 
>> wall.  I've understood that RPM's are somewhat like installing 
>> programs on Windows, so that was downloaded and started with YAST.
>>
>> And got some error messages about missing stuff.  The first reactions 
>> is surprise -- there must be an error in the installation procedure. 
>> I have never (well, almost) met an installation procedure on Windows 
>> that did not include everything needed.  And the installation of R on 
>> Windows was very smooth.  Then I discover to my big surprise that the 
>> readme file says that I need to have eight installed packages.  Then 
>> it says "Most of them are included in a standard install".  Sigh. 
>> Then the problem next is to find out which of the eight I already have 
>> and which ones I need to locate somewhere.  Where can I find them I 
>> wonder.  Somewhere on the net?  And that is how far I got today.
>>
>> So, one of the complaints I have is that the instructions for 
>> installing R on Linux are very cryptic, and to a large extent assume 
>> that you already know Linux.  Which I do not.  And I expect 
>> instructions on installing should be simple and clear.  But I am a 
>> very experienced computer user, so I really expect to be able to 
>> understand instructions.  I cannot expect my students to manage what I 
>> cannot manage myself, so Linux is out, or at least Suse Linux.  And 
>> that is a pity, for a number of reasons.
>>
>> The second is just as much surprise at the installation procedure. 
>> Under Windows there are any number of installers which make it easy 
>> for a programmer to put together all the files needed and place them 
>> in the right place.
>>
>> And simeone should get the OpenSuse people to include R in the 
>> installation.
>>
>> Tom
>>
>> +----------------------------------------------------------------+
>> | Tom Backer Johnsen, Psychometrics Unit,  Faculty of Psychology |
>> | University of Bergen, Christies gt. 12, N-5015 Bergen,  NORWAY |
>> | Tel : +47-5558-9185                        Fax : +47-5558-9879 |
>> | Email : backer at psych.uib.no    URL : http://www.galton.uib.no/ |
>> +----------------------------------------------------------------+
>>
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