Hi Adelchi,
On 28 July 2020 at 11:46, Adelchi Azzalini wrote: | When I updated package mnormt to version 2.0.0 in June (now at 2.0.1), | at the stage of --as-cran checking, there was a compilation error, | which was overcome by setting the | | Depends: R (≥ 4.0.0) | | With this option, all worked fine. | | However, shortly afterwards, complaints started coming, | either from users or from maintainers of packages making use of mnormt, | because this high version dependence causes troubles to some people, | such as those using Debian installations, currently at a much lower | R version. You can point those users to a) the r-sig-debian list and b) the Debian directory at CRAN as we have always had "backports" of the current R to older Debian releases---thanks to the work by Johannes Ranke "backporting" whatever my current Debian packages of R are. Moreover, you can also point them at `apt install r-cran-mnormt` -- I have maintained your package within Debian since 2007 (!!) and continue to do so giving Debian (and Ubuntu) users the choice between a distro binary and installation from CRAN source. | At the time I select that dependence value, I relied on the fact that | install.packages() selected the most recent suitable version of a package, | given the existing R installation. I expected that people without | R 4.0.0 would have the older version of mnormt, 1.5-7, installed. | As my memory goes (and the memory of other people too), this was | the working in the past, but apparently not any more. I don't think that is quite correct. The CRAN repo is always set up for the currently released version, and may allow constraints such 'R (>= 4.0.0)' imposing the current (major) release. There is no recent change in this behavior. | For instance, this is a passage from a specific user: | | "install.packages() used tp just install the most recent available | for your current version of R. In the past it might have done just that, | but that's clearly not the case currently." Yes and no. I don't think this correctly stated. `install.packages()` always picks the most recent version, but this may also require running _the current_ R release. I disagree about "not the case currently" -- no change as stated above. | Can anyone clarify the reason of this (apparent? real?) change? | ...and possibly indicate a way who people with lower R version (and perhaps | limited R expertise) can install the older version of mnormt, 1.5-7, | without much hassle? "Versioned" installs were never supported by `install.packages()`. But one could always download an older version to a local file, and point install.packages() at that file (and setting 'repos=NULL'), or use `R CMD INSTALL` directly. No change there either. Dirk -- https://dirk.eddelbuettel.com | @eddelbuettel | e...@debian.org ______________________________________________ R-package-devel@r-project.org mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-package-devel
