[WIP] Getting_Started

02-getting_started.Rmd

@@ -1,27 +1,74 @@
-# Getting Started 
-
-## Install git
-
-## Get the source code 
-
-## Compile and build
-
-### UNIX
-
-### Windows
-
-## Install dependencies
-
-### Linux
-
-### maxOS and OS X
-
-## Regenerate `configure`
-
-## Troubleshoot the build
-
-### Avoid recreating auto-generated files
-
-## Editors and Tools
-
-## Directory structure
+# Getting Started 
+
+These instructions cover how to install $\textsf{R}$ in Windows. The tools required to build $\textsf{R}$ and $\textsf{R}$ packages in Windows are also discussed.
+
+## Installing $\textsf{R}$
+
+To install $\textsf{R}$ in Windows follow these steps:
+
+1. Go to https://cran.r-project.org.
+
+2. Select `Download R for Windows`. You will be directed to a page which shows `Subdirectories` for installing R on Windows.
+
+3. Select `base` subdirectory. Alternatively, you can select `install R for the first time`, it leads to the same page. The current official stable release distribution of $\textsf{R}$ can be downloaded from here. (Along with the link to the current official stable release, links to the development snapshot build and to the previous releases, are also available on this page).
+
+4. This distribution is distributed as an installer `R-x.y.z-win.exe`. The `x.y.z` in the $\textsf{R}$ system version represent the major, minor, and patchlevel numbers, respectively.
+
+5. This has to be run in the Windows-style installer.
+
+6. Select the language while installing, read the public license information, and select destination location to the start the installation. You will be prompted to select components at this stage: `User installation`, `32-bit User installation`, `64-bit User installation`, or `Custom installation`. The default option may be opted for the questions from this step onwards. 
+
+7. Complete the installation.
+
+## General instructions
+
+1. The $\textsf{R}$ executable downloaded by following the above steps, is the binary distribution of `R-x.y.z`, which can run on Windows XP and above versions (including 64-bit versions of Windows). It can run on ix86 and x86_64 chips.
+
+2. There are two versions of the $\textsf{R}$ executable, the 32-bit version (in `R-x.y.z\bin\i386`) and the 64-bit version (in `R-x.y.z\bin\x64`). On the 32-bit versions of Windows, by default only the former gets installed, whereas on the 64-bit versions, both get installed. 
+
+3. If there is already a previous version of R installed in your system and you want to retain the packages installed in it, then uninstall the previous version of $\textsf{R}$ (from the Control Panel) and install the new one. In the new installation, copy any installed packages to the library folder and run `update.packages(checkBuilt=TRUE, ask=FALSE)` in the new $\textsf{R}$. 
+
+4. If there are different versions of R installed, then they are present in parallel folders. Hence, earlier versions can also be retained if you wish to keep them.
+
+5. When there is a change in the minor version of $\textsf{R}$ (say, from 4.0.3 to 4.1.0), then the library names (folder `R\win-library\x.y` of your home directory, `R\win64-library\x.y` on 64-bit builds), will need to be updated too. For doing this, copy (say) `R\win-library\4.0` to `R\win-library\4.1` and then run the `update.packages(checkBuilt=TRUE, ask=FALSE)` command.
+
+6. Daily [tarballs](https://stat.ethz.ch/R/daily/) are available for the patched version of the current release (`r-patched`), and the development version of the current release (`r-devel`). The same are also available via the [R Subversion repository](https://svn.R-project.org/R/)
+
+## Building $\textsf{R}$ and $\textsf{R}$ packages
+
+### What tools you need to build $\textsf{R}$ from source on Windows?
+
+1. `RTools` is the [subdirectory](https://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/Rtools/) which you want to build $\textsf{R}$ or your own $\textsf{R}$ package(s) on Windows. 
+
+2. You also need a distribution of $\LaTeX$ installed for building $\textsf{R}$ and checking packages. The `MiKTeX` distribution of $\LaTeX$ that is used on CRAN can be downloaded from https://miktex.org.
+
+### How to setup `RTools`?
+
+1. The executable version of `RTools` that is specific to your requirements can be downloaded from https://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/Rtools/ and run in the Windows-style installer. 
+
+2. After completing the installation, you need to put the location of the RTools $\textit{make}$ $\textit{utilities}$ on the `PATH`. For doing this, exceute the following commands in $\textsf{R}$:
+
+```{r, results='hide'}
+writeLines('PATH="${RTOOLS40_HOME}\\usr\\bin;${PATH}"', con = "~/.Renviron")
+```
+
+Restart $\textsf{R}$ now. Verify that $\textit{make}$ can be found using the following command. (The output of the command should show the path where you installed `RTools`):
+
+```{r, results='hide'}
+Sys.which("make")
+## "C:\\rtools40\\usr\\bin\\make.exe"
+```
+
+If the above works, then try installing an $\textsf{R}$ package from source:
+
+```{r, results='hide'}
+## install.packages("jsonlite", type = "source")    ## An example
+```
+
+If you are successful in installing an $\textsf{R}$ package from source, then the setup for `RTools` is completed.
+
+### How to build $\textsf{R}$?
+
+To build $\textsf{R}$ for Windows using `RTools` follow the instructions in this [readme](https://github.com/r-windows/r-base#readme) file.
+
+## References (chapterwise or at the end of the guide?)