How can I install the developmental version of `data.table 1.9.3` on Rstudio mounted on a redhat linux server?

Question

I am currently trying to use the foverlaps function in the data.table 1.9.3 version. However, I need a lot of RAM and power. Hence, I am paying by the hour to use the Revolution R Linux software on Amazon, which is mounted onto an EC2 122 GB RAM server.

The problem I am having is that in order to run data.table version 1.9.3, I must use the function install_github . However, I cannot install devtools in R. I looked around here on stackoverflow and realized that the curl-dev package must be installed. However, Revolution R doesn't allow me to use sudo commands. Therefore, I cannot install the newest version of data.table 1.9.3.

I am currently not sure what I can do. I have also tried to directly copy the newest zip version of 1.9.3 into the library, and R does recognize I just installed version 1.9.3, but I am unable to call out any functions. For example, when I do: ?foverlaps , I just get "No documentation for 'foverlaps' in specified packages and libraries.

Does anyone have any idea how I can get 1.9.3 up and running on an linux redhat server Rstudio mount? Thanks!

Answer 1

You can try the Download ZIP button in the right side of the github page, unzip it and run R CMD INSTALL <unzipped directory> from a terminal. The only problem with this approach is that it will not automatically install dependencies, and the installation will fail until you do so. Looking at the Imports field it seems you need to install packages chron and reshape2 . You may install those (if not already installed) with install.packages().