R package update

[john256]

This isn't quite a package request as R (http://r-project.org) is actually available through the repository, but I thought that it would be great if it could be refreshed to contain a more recent R version. I discovered that some add-on packages require a newer R.

[gapan]

If it isn't a security/important bugfix release, it will not be updated until the next major salix version. You can always create your own package by using the SLKBUILD file in /usr/src/R-$version/

[john256]

Thank you for the clarification, gapan!

You can always create your own package by using the SLKBUILD file in /usr/src/R-$version/

I found some generic instructions on the wiki, but am not sure that I understand these and the use of slkbuild with fakeroot (as mentioned there) sounds also enigmatic to me I couldn't locate any hints on using SLKBUILD on the forum either, so a step-by-step instruction (how-to) would be much welcome.

[gapan]

You don't have to use fakeroot if that confuses you. Just open a root terminal and run:

Code: Select all

cd /usr/src/R-2.12.1
vi SLKBUILD

change the version line to the one you want. Save and exit.

Code: Select all

slkbuild -X
spkg -u newpackage.txz

[john256]

Wow, gapan, that was easy Thanks a lot for the instructions! I am building now...

[john256]

Everything worked like a breeze, but I needed to add an exception rule (something like this ^R$) to tell Gslapt not to "upgrade" the newly installed package to the older one from the repository.

On a sidenote - I wonder if there isn't a way to make Gslapt more "version aware", i.e. not to suggest "updating" a newer package just because there is an older version available. It seems that the version numbers are not really compared but the official package is blindly suggested as a legitimate "update"

[gapan]

The best that you can do is create a local repository in your hard drive with the packages that you want to prefer over the official ones and give it a higher ("CUSTOM") priority. Look in the slapt-get FAQ on how to do that. Excluding the packages as you did also works, but if might get tedious if you have a lot of overrides.

[john256]

Yes, the local repository approach seems indeed more practical when there are much overrides.

Thank you for the advice!