====== Build R packages ======

=== Step1: generate a skeleton ===
<code>package.skeleton(name="bmem", code_files="bmem.R")</code>

=== Step 2: edit DESCRIPTION file ===

===== Building R packages in Windows =====

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**Disclaimer**: The instructions below describe what I've been doing to compile an R package for Windows. Check out the files "src/gnuwin32/INSTALL" and "src/gnuwin32/readme.packages" in the R source distribution for the official (and recommended) approach. Most importantly, see [[http://www.murdoch-sutherland.com/Rtools/|this page]].

Also note: there is an online service ([[http://win-builder.r-project.org/|http://win-builder.r-project.org]]) for building and checking R packages for Windows.

==== Preparations ====

  - Look at the [[http://cran.r-project.org/doc/manuals/R-admin.html#The-Windows-toolset|Windows toolset appendix]] in the [[http://cran.r-project.org/doc/manuals/R-admin.html|R Administration manual]].
  - Go to the webpage http://www.murdoch-sutherland.com/Rtools/
  - Download and install the "Rtools.exe" file. This includes:
    - A bunch of command-line tools
    - Perl
    - The MinGW compiler
  - You may also want:
    - [[http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms669985.aspx|Microsoft's HTML Help Workshop]]
    - [[http://www.miktex.org/|MikTeX]]
  - Make sure your PATH contains all of the right directories (e.g., that the R bin directory is correct).
    - Go to "Control Panel -> System."
    - Click on the tab "Advanced" and then on "Environment Variables."
    - Highlight "Path" at the bottom and click "Edit".
    - In the character string in "Variable Value", you want "c:\Rtools\bin;c:\Rtools\perl\bin;c:\Rtools\MinGW\bin;c:\R\bin" and then any other stuff at the end. (Most problems I've experienced have been due to incorrect directories here, or an incorrect order in the directories.)

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==== Building an R package in Windows ====

With the latest versions of R, this is easy. I'll use, as an example, my own package, "qtl".

  - Extract the package source to a directory, say "c:\MyRpackages\qtl"
  - Go to the directory "c:\MyRpackages"
  - Type "R CMD build --binary qtl"
  - A file like "qtl_0.98-52.zip" should be created.

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