[R] Error Installing or Updating Packages (Maybe because of a proxy)

[Olivier Crouzet]

Dear all,

I receive the very same error message on a Debian computer (testing)
with R 2.13.0 also.

> install.packages('emu')
Installing package(s) into
‘/home/olivier/R/i486-pc-linux-gnu-library/2.13’ (as ‘lib’ is
unspecified) 
Error in ret[i, ] <- c(pkgs[i], lib, desc) : 
  number of items to replace is not a multiple of replacement length

I have no proxy settings on this computer (neither
in .bashrc / .bash_profile, nor in my desktop environment, and I'm
doing it at home where I'm not using any proxy).

I can download a file on the web from within R (using both download.file
() or download.packages
('emu','/home/olivier/R/i486-pc-linux-gnu-library/2.13')... and finally
I can also use install.packages() on this downloaded file and the
install works flawlessly.

I can't find any old R base package in the various directories
indicated by .libPaths().

> .libPaths()
[1] "/home/olivier/R/i486-pc-linux-gnu-library/2.13"
[2] "/usr/local/lib/R/site-library"                 
[3] "/usr/lib/R/site-library"                       
[4] "/usr/lib/R/library"   

The only place where I can think there may be one are the local trees
([1] and [2]) as the 2 others are (should be) updated automatically when
updating R with the Debian pkg mngmt system and there's nothing inside
them. Only [4] contains a base/ subdirectory (a single one) but I
suppose this is the current one for R 2.13.0

I can install a package once it's been downloaded locally (through R CMD
INSTALL pkg) but can't succeed in installing the same package from the
CRAN mirrors using install.packages(). I experience the very same issue
with all related instructions (old.packages(), update.packages()) 

I also could do that several months ago on a different Debian computer
(but with an older R version than the current one).

Any hints (including what kind of information I should give to enhance
the description of this issue)?

Olivier.




On Wed, 20 Apr 2011 10:29:17 +0200 Uwe Ligges
<ligges at statistik.tu-dortmund.de> wrote:

> If the internet connection from R works, can you please verify that
> you do not have any R base package from an old R version in a current
> R library that you may have in the .libPaths() already?
> 
> Uwe Ligges
> 
> 
> 
> On 20.04.2011 09:25, Majid Einian wrote:
> > Dear R Helpers,
> > (I am using Ubuntu lucid and R 2.13.0
> > When I try to update packages I get this error:
> >
> >> update.packages()
> > --- Please select a CRAN mirror for use in this session ---
> > Loading Tcl/Tk interface ... done
> > Error in ret[i, ]<- c(pkgs[i], lib, desc) :
> >    number of items to replace is not a multiple of replacement
> > length
> >
> > I had no problem before (case 1) but now (case 2) I cannot get it
> > to work, googleing did not help:
> > case 1:
> >       * connecting directly without any proxy setting (at my
> > university)
> >       * using R 2.12.2
> > case 2:
> >       * connecting through proxy setting (at my workplace)
> >       * using R 2.13.0
> >
> > I set the proxy in terminal too but it does not help (echo
> > $http_proxy gives me http://192.168.0.1:8080/)
> >
> 
> ______________________________________________
> R-help at r-project.org mailing list
> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
> PLEASE do read the posting guide
> http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html and provide commented,
> minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.


-- 
  Olivier Crouzet, PhD
  Laboratoire de Linguistique -- EA3827
  Département de Sciences du Langage
  UFR Lettres et Langages
  Université de Nantes
  Chemin de la Censive du Tertre - BP 81227
  44312 Nantes cedex 3
  France

     phone:        (+33) 02 40 14 14 05 (lab.)
                   (+33) 02 40 14 14 36 (office)
     fax:          (+33) 02 40 14 13 27
     e-mail:       olivier.crouzet at univ-nantes.fr
 		
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