No more (R package) breakage from (system) library updates. Full integration with apt so that an update of a system library cannot break an R package: if a (shared) library is used by a CRAN, the package manager knows and will not remove it.
Key features that allow installing all of tidyverse in under 20 seconds after downloading. Even here, though, the way can be smoother and the trip much shorter by using r2u from Dirk Eddelbuettel, the World’s Foremost Authority™️ on all things at the intersection of R and Debian. Usually, a little rseeking will uncover the right name to bring in using apt install. Binary versions usually do not lag past 10-14 days.Īmong Linux distributions, building from source almost always succeeds unless there are missing dependencies on the target. The “later source version” temptation can be avoided with a little patience. If it doesn’t, it will never compile for the vast majority of RStudio users who do not devote an appreciable portion of their time to development and are well versed in modifying source code to address situations peculiar to their choice of OS. Whether on Win, Mac or Lin, if presented with the option to install from source, take it once.