Problem with MKL Math Libraries under RRO 3.0.2

[Paolo Cavatore]

After installing RRO 3.2.0 and the MKL Math Libraries I tried to load the library RevoUtilsMath but RRO returned the error message saying the library didn't exist.

I found the library being installed in the wrong path (under the usual R3.2.0 rather than the correct RRO/R3.2.0) by the MKL Math Libraries installer.

After moving the library I tried again to load it but I got the following error message:

> library(RevoUtilsMath)

Error : .onLoad failed in loadNamespace() for 'RevoUtilsMath', details:

  call: fun(libname, pkgname)

  error: To use RevoUtilsMath you must first install the MKL Math Library.

 Visit http://mran.revolutionanalytics.com/download.

 If you have previously installed the MKL Math Library,

remove it using Add/Remove Programs, then re-install.

Error: package or namespace load failed for ‘RevoUtilsMath’

[Josée Martens]

Thanks for the report, Paolo. What platform are you on?

Josée

[Paolo Cavatore]

Hi Josée,

I'm on Windows 7 64bit.

I forgot to add that uninstalling and reinstalling MKL Math Libraries didn't help.

Paolo

[Josée Martens]

Hi Paolo, 

This issue is due to the fact that for most R users, including yourself, the default library path points to your user folder instead of RRO. The MKL installer was expecting it to point to RRO. 

To get MKL working on your system:

1. Please remove the file you copied and uninstall MKL. This way we'll start with a clean slate.

2. Reset the library path for the current session, type:

    .libPaths("C:/Program Files/RRO/R-3.2.0/library")  

(Tip: To make this change permanently you'd have to put this in your C:/Program Files/R-3.2.0/etc/Rprofile.site)

3. Install MKL again.

Let me know if that fixes the issue for you.

Josée

[Paolo Cavatore]

Hi Josée,

thanks for your help.

Unfortunately it doesn't fix the issue...the RevoUtilsMath library is still installed under usual R path rather than RRO.

I guess the MKL installer is looking for some registry key to find the path for R installation rather than using .libPaths().

Having the option to select the target path during MKL installation sounds like the best approach imo in order to have it installed propoerly and let different version of both R and RRO coexist at the same time.

[Josée Martens]

Hello Paolo,

The workaround I provided earlier will not patch the MKL installer. That installer will always install the library to the user library path if R was installed before RRO 3.2.0. The workaround provided will make it possible for you to load the correct MKL library that is being installed under your user library path. To make this change for all future R sessions, remember to make the change in the Rprofile.site file as described earlier. 

We'll update the MKL installer in our upcoming 3.2.1 release.

Thank you for reporting this issue. If you have another other issues, please let us know.

Cheers,

Josée Martens

[Paolo Cavatore]

Hi Josée,

thanks for clarifying that.

Looking forward to the upcoming release then...hopefully there will the option to select the right path for the MKL library during installation as my RRO version is still used as a testing environment and definitely not as the reference one.

Best,

Paolo

[Josée Martens]

Hi Paolo,

The registry issue you highlighted is causing MKL installation issues for RRO 3.2.0 whenever R 3.2.0 is also installed.

While we will be releasing updated RRO and MKL installers for Windows shortly,  you can use the following workaround in the interim:

1. Uninstall CRAN R 3.2.0
   
2. Uninstall RRO 3.2.0
   
3. Uninstall MKL 3.2.0
   
4. Reinstall RRO 3.2.0
   
5. Reinstall MKL 3.2.0
   

Please let us know how that works for you. Check back soon for the updated installers.

Regards,

Josée

[jmar...@microsoft.com]

Hi Paolo,

New installers for RRO and MKL have been released to address this Windows registry issue. Please let us know if you encounter any issues again.

You can find them here: http://mran.revolutionanalytics.com/download/#download

Please uninstall RRO and MKL 3.2.0 before reinstalling them. 

Thanks again for reporting the issue.

Regards,

Josée

[Paolo Cavatore]

Hi Josée,

thanks for the update but unfortunately I'm still getting an error when trying to install MKL saying:

"No version of RRO could be detected. This installer will not be able to detect RRO if RRO was installed with the option 'Save version number in registry' unchecked. Please install RRO with this option enabled."

Please consider that I do not want to make RRO the "official" R version by writing it in the registry as I told you below. I don't understand why you cannot simply let the MKL installer ask for the target RRO path during installation rather than looking into the registry making things more flexible with different version of R and RRO working alongside each other.

Paolo

[jmar...@microsoft.com]

Hi Paolo,

RRO no longer writes to the same registry key as CRAN R as a direct result of the hotfix we released last week. RRO now writes to its own registry key, which should make it possible for you to use a different R version.

However, the last version of R you install is the one to which R file extensions are associated.  So, if you install CRAN R last, then the R file extensions will be associated with that version of R.

Hope that solves things.

Regards,

Josée

[Paolo Cavatore]

Hi Josée,

I guess there is a bit of misunderstanding...I don't want to write anything in the registry in order to preserve R/RRO portability.

R itself is perfectly portable as you can see from http://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/base/rw-FAQ.html#Can-I-run-R-from-a-CD-or-USB-drive_003f and the registry is used in a very limited (and avoidable) way as you can see from http://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/base/rw-FAQ.html#Does-R-use-the-Registry_003f

Now I don't really see the reason why the MKL installer must require a registry key to find the relevant RRO version rather than simply letting the user to select it during the installation preserving the portability feature.

Having said that, if MKL installer does indeed require a registry key to properly install it, I will likely abandon RRO overall.

I hope it makes it clearer.

Paolo

[Paolo Cavatore]

Hi Josée,

please let me know if you have a feedback on the below.

Paolo

[Andrie de Vries]

Hi, Paolo

IIUC, RRO uses the Windows registry key in a very similar way to R itself.  To be precise, RRO does not modify the registry key that R writes, but adds an additional key that the MKL installer picks up. This is invisible to the end user.

Thanks to your original bug report, we fixed a bug in the installer, and the installation process should now work seamlessly, regardless of where you install the product.

I hope this helps to clarify the situation. If you still this unacceptable, I'd really like to understand more about your objections.

Regards

Andrie

[Paolo Cavatore]

Hi Andrie,

MKL installer doesn't start the installation process if it doesn't find any RRO version in the registry...that's my issue.

As such MKL cannot be installed with any portable RRO (no registry key).

What I'm suggesting is a very easy way to address that: MKL installer should request RRO path to the user during installation rather than looking it up in the registry.

I hope it makes it clear.

Best,

Paolo

[jmar...@microsoft.com]

Hello Paolo,

Thanks for clarifying. We are investigating and 

will report back as soon as we have something 

new to share.

Regards,

Josée Martens

[Carlos Roberto]

Hi guys,

I was facing the same issue in my Windows 7 x64 and here is the fix:

1. I am using RStudio where did select RRO in Tools > =Global Options...

2. Did a .libPath pointing to my RRO library

3. Closed RStudio

4. Uncommented .Library.site in Rprofile.site

And now no more issues.

[Paolo Cavatore]

Carlos,

as per my previous comment, MKL installer doesn't start the installation process if it doesn't find any RRO version in the registry.

My issue is related to how MKL installer looks up R/RRO version in the registry and therefore not related to Rprofile file. Your solution is referring to a different problem...namely how to have R pointing to a different path/folder for the package library.

Josée I hope you can provide the simple fix mentioned above for the (hopefully) upcoming next release.

[Paolo Cavatore]

The current MKL installer for the latest RRO 3.2.1 is still NOT working.

As reported at https://mran.revolutionanalytics.com/documents/rro/installation/#revorinst-win:

Note: This MKL installer will not be able to detect RRO if RRO was installed with the option to "Save version number in registry” unchecked.

What is the reason it's still not possible to simply select the current RRO path/version during MKL installation rather than having the current version being written in the registry? As I said before this is causing big portability and side-by-side installation issues.