The R Project SVN R

Cross-building packages on Linux

================================

It is straightforward to build a package on a ix86 (or even x86_64)

Linux system, except to build .chm files.  You will need an

installation of R for Windows, either copied from a Windows system or

cross-compiled, and a Linux R installation of exactly the same version,

built without using subarchitectures.

First you need to set up the cross-compilers and tools (see the `R

Installation and Administration' manual) and have them in your path.

We will assume that your Linux installation has Perl5, unzip and zip.

Edit MkRules to set BUILD=CROSS and the appropriate paths (including

HEADER and R_EXE) as needed.

Then packages can be made as natively, for example by

	cd .../src/gnuwin32

	make PKGDIR=/mysources RLIB=/R/win/library pkg-mypkg

	make PKGDIR=/mysources RLIB=/R/win/library lazyload-mypkg

	cd /R/win/library

	zip -r9X /dest/mypkg.zip mypkg

(Rcmd is a Windows executable, so cannot be used.)

If your package has no compiled code it is possible that zipping up

the installed package on Linux will produce an installable package on

Windows.  (It has always worked for us, but failures have been reported.)

People have reported being able to build .chm files with WINE provided

that the Windows itss.dll is used: there is not support for this in

the distributed Makefiles.