Skip to content

Instantly share code, notes, and snippets.

@DataSciCode

DataSciCode/gtk_install.md

Forked from sebkopf/gtk_install.md
Created June 26, 2014 04:46
Show Gist options
  • Save DataSciCode/684c0e37a4d1803dd76e to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Save DataSciCode/684c0e37a4d1803dd76e to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Download ZIP
Raw
gtk_install.md

##Installation information for R with GTK+

###Windows If you don't have R yet, install the newest version from http://www.r-project.org/ . Additionally, I highly recommend RStudio (http://www.rstudio.com/) for working with R regularly (but the basic command line will work just fine for most applications). Once R is installed, you can install GTK directly from within R (details below):

  1. From the R command line, install the RGtk2 package by running: install.packages("RGtk2", depen=T)
  2. Then load the package by running: library(RGtk2)
    This will notice the missing GTK and prompt you to install it. Choose "Install GTK+" when prompted, it might take a few minutes to install. Afterwards it will likely still complain (restart required).
  3. Restart R/Rstudio and confirm GTK is now up and running by reloading the package: library(RGtk2)

###MacOS R version 3 requires the GTK+ 2.24 framework which does not work properly out of the box yet on Mac OS X (details on the problem and instructions on how to solve it below if you want to use it in R 3). I'm sure this will be resolved eventually in a normal installation of R >= 3.0 and GTK+ 2.24 but for the time being I recommend just installing the older GTK+ 2.18 framework (http://r.research.att.com/libs/GTK_2.18.5-X11.pkg) instead and using R 2.15 (http://r.research.att.com/R-2.15-branch-leopard.pkg - works fine with OS X Lion). If you already have R > 3.0 installed and want to run both version, no problem, the little helper program RSwitch (http://r.research.att.com/RSwitch-1.2.dmg) provides a simple means for switching back and forth easily. Also, having both GTK+ 2.24 and GTK+ 2.18 installed is no problem either, just make sure the 'Current' symlink in '/Library/Frameworks/GTK+.framework/Versions/' points to 2.18.X11. So in brief:

If really you want to run GTK+ with R >= 3.0, please see the more detailed description of the problem and instructions on how to solve it below.

#####Details on GTK+ 2.24 trouble R version 3 requires the GTK+ 2.24 framework which does not work properly yet out of the box on Mac OS X throwing a malloc error when running the following simple example:

> library(gWidgets)
> options("guiToolkit"="RGtk2")
> win <- gwindow("test")
> glabel("test label", container = win)

> gedit("test text field", container = win)
guiWidget of type: gEditRGtk for toolkit: guiWidgetsToolkitRGtk2 
> R(9523,0x7fff76be1960) malloc: *** error for object 0x4024000000000000: pointer being freed was not allocated *** set a breakpoint in malloc_error_break to debug
Abort trap: 6

The problem is documented on stack overflow in some detail. There is a work-around but it requires installing gtk2 via macports or homebrew and installing the R packages RGtk2 and cairoDevice from source. The approach listed below is inspired by suggestions on stack overflow (especially this contribution from John Verzani and worked well for me and others):

  • install macports, a tool for installing open-source software on MacOS (http://www.macports.org/install.php)
  • macports requires Apple's Xcode command line tools (free but you need an AppleID to download), which include all the necessary compilers for macports
  • you can install the full version of Xcode (~2Gb) or just the command line tools (in either case, make sure to install the latest version for your MacOS version)
  • for the full version, after installation go to the XCode preferences and install the command line tools
  • for the command line tools only, search for command line tools on https://developer.apple.com/downloads/ (the standalone command line tools are not recognized by the MacPorts installers but the warnings can be safely ignored)
  • after installing macports, open a terminal and run the following commands to install GTK (you will be asked for your password)
  • export PATH=/opt/local/bin:/opt/local/sbin:$PATH
  • sudo port selfupdate
  • sudo port install pkgconfig
  • sudo port install gtk2 +x11
  • then download the RGtk2 and cairoDevice package source from CRAN:
  • http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/RGtk2/ - download the package source (RGtk2_version.tar.gz)
  • http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/cairoDevice/ - download the package source (cairoDevice_version.tar.gz)
  • install the two packages by running the following commands on the terminal (adjust for the correct path to the downloads and the correct version you downloaded, RGtk2 may take a few minutes)
  • R CMD INSTALL ~/Downloads/RGtk2_version.tar.gz
  • R CMD INSTALL ~/Downloads/cairoDevice_version.tar.gz
  • Note: this last step (installing RGtk2 and cairoDevice from source) has to be repeated after upgrading to a new version of R / reinstalling R
Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment