Matt,
I am glad you got past your roadblock.
I am puzzled by your use of `dev.set'. I have never explicitly invoked that
function.
FWIW, I have used R for more than 20 years and routinely write packages or
reports that create graphics.
And I use ESS (and used its predecessor S-mode) as my principal IDE for that
work. (Org relies on ESS for modes relating to R.) I routinely use Mac OS, but
occasionally work with Linux and Windows.
Invoking R from the terminal window (or equivalent on Windows) and typing
interactive commands, I get:
> dev.cur()
null device
1
> plot(1:5)
> dev.cur()
quartz
2
>
Note there is no call to dev.set().
The quartz device (the interactive default on Mac OS) is invoked implicitly by
plot as described by the `Details' in the help page displayed by typing
`?device' as the R prompt"
"If no device is open, calling any high-level graphics function will cause a
device to be opened."
If I start emacs and open an org buffer with just this src block in it:
#+begin_src R
dev.cur()
plot(1:5)
dev.cur()
#+end_src
then place point in the src block and type the line in this example block
#+begin_example
C-c ' C-n RET C-n C-n
#+end_example
I end up with the same output as above in my *R* session buffer. A new graphics
device is opened and the plot appears in it.
Best,
Chuck
> On Apr 6, 2020, at 6:26 PM, Matt Price <mopto...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> On Sun, Apr 5, 2020 at 1:19 PM Berry, Charles <ccbe...@health.ucsd.edu> wrote:
>
>
> > On Apr 4, 2020, at 4:27 PM, Matt Price <mopto...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > Does anyone know much about the difference between an R session opened by
> > typing M-x R, and the R session opened by org-babel?
>
>
> Short answer: almost none.
>
> Long answer: what `org-babel-R-initite-session' and friends do.
> :-) thanks, I should have been looking for that
>
> >
> > I'm just learning R and my usual method for learning a language is to keep
> > a kind of notebook in org with code snippets they I can execute and iterate
> > on rapidly as I learn. This works great in R when I'm just doing math.
> > When I am working on plots, it would be nice to have them open up quickly
> > either in emacs or in the standard x11 window that R session opened switch
> > M-x R opens up.
> >
> > I know I can set the src block headers to produ e a file, but when I'm just
> > iterating rapidly I often switch back and forth between a data output and a
> > graphical output, and typing/erasing those headers is clunky and slow. It
> > would be easier to just paste the plot command into the console and have it
> > pop open the window... But that doesn't seem to work. Anyone know if I can
> > tweak something to make that possible?
> >
>
>
> I sam really puzzled by this. Do you have an ECM that illustrates this?
>
> Working interactively on my Mac (Quartz - X11 is the device), I routinely do
> what you describe - usually working from the src edit buffer - and the plots
> are displayed (and older plots are available via clover-left or some such).
>
> If I had to guess, I'd say that you are opening an R session, but not using
> it. If you execute a src block, but it does not have a `:session' header, a
> new instance of R will create a plot file and then exit. If you look in the
> default directory, you would see `Rplots.pdf' or some such.
>
> The only other thing that comes to mind is that you opened a device that is
> holding on to all your plots. Try `dev.cur()' in R immediately before and
> after you create a plot and see what the result is.
>
> This was the problem. I don't see that I'm calling dev.set() anywhere but
> when the session initiates dev.cur() returns
>
> null
> 1
>
> calling dev.set(1) or dev.set(2) launches an R_x11 window and future plots
> are displayed there. As I say, I'm just learning R, and I don't really
> understand how the device is set up. I also don't understand why it would be
> set to X11 in a plain-old R session, but not in an org-babel R session. Most
> references to "device" in ~ob-R.el~ seem to be managing file outputs, and
> "X11". For now I don't think I'll explore a proper solution as I'm already
> pretty far down a rabit hole just learning R at all! But thanks very much
> for this workaround.
>
> Matt
> HTH,
>
> Chuck
