Scripts to build an **unofficial** Rtools-esq installer for the macOS R toolchain
This installer has been superceded by the {macrtools} R package, which automatically installs and configures the R toolchain for compiled code on macOS.
Please do not use the r-macos-rtools
installer package as it is notably out of date.
The repository contains the scripts used to create an installer package (.pkg
)
that contains binaries used to create the CRAN official macOS R binary.
Specifically, the installer will try to download and install:
gfortran6.3
or gfortran8.2
from https://github.com/fxcoudert/gfortran-for-macOS/releases
Moreover, the installer will attempt to clean up previous installations by
removing configuration files ~/.R/Makevars
and ~/.Renviron
that are no longer used.
Backups for each file will be presented with .bck
appended to the end.
For those interested, the installer can be obtained on either the project's release page. The pre-built binaries this installer encloses can be found at https://developer.apple.com/download/more/ and https://github.com/fxcoudert/gfortran-for-macOS/releases.
Note The installer package was developed by James Joseph Balamuta and has no connection with the R project’s macOS CRAN maintainers. Financial support was provided to sign the installer by Professor Timothy Bates of the University of Edinburgh.
That's it.
Once installed, you can start using compiled code in R like normal.
If you want to see behind the curtain, continue reading...
The macOS R toolchain installer performs four actions that require the user's password to accomplish. These actions are:
~/.R/Makevars
or ~/.Renviron
(backups available with .bck
)sgfortran
version to usegfortran
versionNote: The installer will remove any existing ~/.R/Makevars
and ~/.Renviron
files.
The existing files will be copied to a backup file, e.g. ~/.R/Makevars.bck
and ~/.Renvion.bck
.
Verify steps are conducted using embedded md5 hashes of the files. If the hash is not identical to what was embedded, the installer will exit. For details as to how this was implemented please see Issue 8: Verify pkg hash and the Pull Request 10: Feature Pkg Hash Verification.
Thanks to the financial support provided by Professor Timothy Bates of the University of Edinburgh to join the Apple Developer program. The installer is now signed using developer credentials.
As a result, the installer should have a "lock" icon in the upper right corner:
Clicking the lock icon will reveal the signed developer certificate:
With this being said, the code used to generate the installer has been made publically available under an open source license (GPL >= 2).
Below is an abridged version of the actions of each file provided.
scripts/postinstall
gfortran
version
Command Line Tools
dmg installer
by using a headless cli check,
downloads the installer from https://developer.apple.com/download/more/,
and installs it using softwareupdate
./usr/local/gfortran
.~/.R/Makevars
and ~/.Renviron
files~/.R/Makevars
and ~/.Renviron
files will be backed up prior to being removed.make_installer.sh
.pkg
pkgbuild
productbuild
to create a distribution.xml
distribution.xml
(title, background, ...)productbuild
to rebuild the package.distribution.xml
build_files/Rlogo.png
build_files/LICENSE.rtf
build_files/WELCOME_DISPLAY.rtf
GPL (>= 2)