R CMD build ignores CXX_STD

[pat-s]

Weird error, no clue if there is any relation to rcmdcheck(). However, I have no experience with setting compiler flags and I am wondering about the following behavior:

On Appveyor, the package gets installed successfully when using devtools::document() with -std=gnu99 https://ci.appveyor.com/project/pat-s/mlr#L13401

A few lines down in the rcmdcheck() process R CMD build is called and its not using the c++99 standard and fails therefore: https://ci.appveyor.com/project/pat-s/mlr#L13695

I've even set CXX_STD = CXX11 in src/Makevars but it seems to get ignored.
Any help here would be highly appreciated!

[gaborcsardi]

Hi, I think this is probably a pkgbuild bug: r-lib/pkgbuild#46

@jimhester is there a manual workaround to add this flag, until pkgbuild is updated on CRAN?

[pat-s]

Ah cool, that helps!

If there is no easy other option, maybe you can set Remotes: r-lib/pkgbuild in DESCRIPTION as a workaround until the CRAN version is released? This way I wouldn't have to use two forks on my side.

[jimhester]

There isn't a great workaround unfortunately, I am going to submit a new version of pkgbuild soon however, so this should be fairly transient

[gaborcsardi]

@pat-s Maybe you can call R CMD build manually, and then rcmdcheck() on the tarball. Then pkgbuild::build() won't be called.

[pat-s]

Worked, thanks! https://github.com/mlr-org/mlr/blob/ce23a4ea63a74e521d0136601cb0880d7f53481c/tic.R#L21-L23

[gaborcsardi]

This is fixed in pkgbuild I believe.

[pat-s]

While thepkgbuild update removed the lock of predefined compiler flags, I am desperately trying to set them correctly on appveyor.

As the pkgbuild code shows, it looks for user Makevars files: r-lib/pkgbuild@60162f8

However, creating one on appveyor or setting a pkg Makevars file as an alternative have no effect.
I also tried setting them as build_args but I thinks that's wrong: rcmdcheck(build_args = "--configure-args=-std=gnu99")

Spent hours already trying various options. I have no exp with CPP, just trying to get appveyor running again :/ Any help would be highly appreciated!

Here is an exemplary failing build: https://ci.appveyor.com/project/mlr-org/mlr/builds/19737175

cc @jimhester

[pat-s]

Ok, got it working - issue posting helps ;) https://ci.appveyor.com/project/mlr-org/mlr/builds/19737512

Solution was to create a src/Makevars with the following contents:

PKG_CPPFLAGS += -std=gnu99