How to compile an R package from source code in Windows 10 - r

Question

I need to compile an existing R package whose most recent version exists only as source code (it is on the CRAN website). I am running Windows 10. With Windows, install.packages just installs the older, binary version, which results in an error message and failure to install the package that depends on the one in question because the latter is not the recent version. I installed R Tools to my computer. The Installation and Administration manual for my version (3.6.3) refers to an Option “install.packages.compile.from.source.code”, but I don’t know to what command this option applies. If I run it in an Options() command it returns NULL. Moreover, the older, obsolete, binary version of the package was installed by install.packages. I don’t know if it is interfering with the process or how to get rid of it.
I can find guidance for ordinary install.packages and guidance for compilation oriented to package developers (which I’m not) in Stack Overflow, but nothing that applies to my situation (installing a package having an existing binary whose newest version exists only in source code, given that the binary version is already installed).
Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Ward Kingkade
wwardkingkade#gmail.com
Illustration of basic issue (log):
> utils:::menuInstallPkgs()
--- Please select a CRAN mirror for use in this session ---
also installing the dependencies ‘ipred’, ‘recipes’
There are binary versions available but the source versions are later:
binary source needs_compilation
ipred 0.9-11 0.9-12 TRUE
recipes 0.1.16 0.1.17 FALSE
caret 6.0-86 6.0-90 TRUE
Binaries will be installed
trying URL 'https://mirrors.nics.utk.edu/cran/bin/windows/contrib/3.6/ipred_0.9-11.zip'
Content type 'application/zip' length 401183 bytes (391 KB)
downloaded 391 KB
trying URL 'https://mirrors.nics.utk.edu/cran/bin/windows/contrib/3.6/caret_6.0-86.zip'
Content type 'application/zip' length 6258933 bytes (6.0 MB)
downloaded 6.0 MB
package ‘ipred’ successfully unpacked and MD5 sums checked
package ‘caret’ successfully unpacked and MD5 sums checked
The downloaded binary packages are in
C:\Users\Ward_\AppData\Local\Temp\RtmpghJ2SG\downloaded_packages
installing the source package ‘recipes’
trying URL 'https://mirrors.nics.utk.edu/cran/src/contrib/recipes_0.1.17.tar.gz'
Content type 'application/x-gzip' length 681531 bytes (665 KB)
downloaded 665 KB
* installing *source* package 'recipes' ...
** package 'recipes' successfully unpacked and MD5 sums checked
** using staged installation
** R
** inst
** byte-compile and prepare package for lazy loading
Error in loadNamespace(j <- i[[1L]], c(lib.loc, .libPaths()), versionCheck = vI[[j]]) :
namespace 'ipred' 0.9-11 is being loaded, but >= 0.9.12 is required
Calls: <Anonymous> ... namespaceImportFrom -> asNamespace -> loadNamespace
Execution halted
ERROR: lazy loading failed for package 'recipes'
* removing 'C:/Users/Ward_/Documents/R/win-library/3.6/recipes'
The downloaded source packages are in
‘C:\Users\Ward_\AppData\Local\Temp\RtmpghJ2SG\downloaded_packages’
Warning message:
In install.packages(lib = .libPaths()[1L], dependencies = NA, type = type) :
installation of package ‘recipes’ had non-zero exit status