Here's another help file question.
Some context: University setting wherein R is installed for
availability to students and course instructors across campus in
various PC labs. Windows Vista environment.
Goal: To maximize flexibility and functionality of installing add-on
packages and associated help files among different users, while
avoiding conflicts across different user libraries. (I could have my
difficult-to-access sysadmin install _all_ libraries, but this seems
wasteful, and would seem to present problems when my colleague or I
want to update a package or install a newly available package but do
not have time to wait a week or two for our sysadmin.)
Problem (?): As a course instructor, I want flexibility to install add-
on libraries to a user (not site) library, and I don't want to step on
my colleagues' toes (or vice-versa) when it comes to add-on packages
and associated help files for use in classes. I have no problem
installing add-on packages to a user library, with one exception: I do
not have permission to update the file $RHOME/doc/html/packages.html,
as evidenced by a permission error upon installing a package to a user
library using update.packages (not to the default site library, which
is also restricted). The installed add-on packages work fine, with
the exception of some of the help functionality. I find myself having
to use browseURL() to point to the html files in the package's file
structure. I cannot expect the average student (or senior colleague)
to tolerate this situation.
I'm thinking that I simply need to have my sysadmin give me and my
colleagues (all users who want to install add-ons packages?)
permission to read/write packages.html, and the problem will go away.
But, before I ask my sysadmin to give permission, I want to know, does
this create another problem? For example, my colleague creates a
library for STAT3000BC, which, I assume, will modify packages.html
(assuming my sysadmin gives permission), then I create a library for
STAT2010, which also modifies packages.html. See my concern? Does R
somehow allow harmonious help functionality in such cases (by, for
example, maintaining separate copies of packages.html for different
users)?
Suggestions? Thanks.
Jarrett
------------------------------------------------------
Jarrett Barber
Assistant Professor
Ross Hall Room 333
Department of Statistics
Dept. 3332
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Office: (307) 766-3341
Mobile: (307) 399-7759
FAX: (307) 766-3927
Reply To: jbarber8[ATT]uwyo.edu
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