[R] installing the x86_64 R Binary on Fedora Core 5

[Marc Schwartz (via MN)]

On Thu, 2006-08-24 at 10:53 -0400, roger bos wrote:
> I am looking for help install the x86_64 R Binary onto my FC5 machine.  At
> the risk of subjecting myself to tons of criticism, I must confess that I
> don't know anything about Linux and I have never compiled R from source.
> Therefore, I choose FC5 because I see that a 64-bit binary is already
> available.
> 
> Here is what I tried:  I installed FC5 with all options (productivity,
> software development, and web server).  FC5 boots up fine.  I downloaded all
> the R binary files in that FC5 directory to my USB drive and copied
> them onto my linux machine (where I don't yet have internet access).  I
> created a folder in my rbos's Home directory and copied the files there.  I
> clicked on the R-2.3.1-1.fc5.x86_64.rpm and right-clicked to choose 'open
> with "install software"'  It asked me for my root password.  I put in the
> same root password I choose when I installed FC5.  I get a "installing
> packages" screen that shows the R filename and I click Apply.  It then give
> me an Error: "Unable to retrieve software information".
> 
> Can anyone tell me what steps I am missing?  The R install guide states that
> binary installs are platform specific so it only considers building from the
> sources.  I look forward to learning a lot about Linux and using more than
> just the GUI, but to get started, I just want to learn how to install a
> binary of R.
> 
> Thanks so much,
> 
> Roger

Roger,

I don't know if the GUI version of the RPM interface (Red Hat/Fedora's
Package Manager) is sufficiently robust these days. In the past, there
were notable problems trying to use it to install software binaries.

I would open a console and change into the folder where you copied the
files. If you are running GNOME and do not have a Terminal launcher
(icon) on any of your panels, you can go to the menus and select:

  Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal

This will open a console on your desktop, just like the Windows command
line console.

Then change to the appropriate folder:

  cd /Path/To/FolderName

Note that unlike Windows, the slashes are '/', not '\'.

Then in that folder, type:

  su

You will be prompted for the root password.  If successful, you will
note that the prompt prefix changes from a '$' to a '#'.

Then, type:

  rpm -ivh R-2.3.1-1.fc5.x86_64.rpm

This will begin the R installation process.  If you get back to the
prompt without any error messages, you should be good to go.  Then type:

  exit

at the console, which will exit root status and bring you back to your
regular user ID (prompt prefix back to '$').

Needless to say, that while you have root privileges in the console, be
careful in what you might type. You have total access to screw up the
system...  :-)

If you get any error messages, post them back here and we can help debug
the process.

HTH,

Marc Schwartz