locatexec
The package aims to allow the localization of external programs such as “python”, “Google Chrome”, “node.js” and “LibreOffice” in order to be able to easily call them from R.
This makes it easier to call these programs from R from various operating systems.
library(locatexec)
if(exec_available("node")){
message(exec_version("node"))
message(node_exec())
}
#> 12.16.0
#> C:/Program Files/nodejs/node.exe| exec | exec_fun | available | version | path |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| node | node_exec() | TRUE | 12.16.0 | C:/Program Files/nodejs/node.exe |
| chrome | chrome_exec() | TRUE | 89.0.4389.82 | C:/Program Files (x86)/Google/Chrome/Application/chrome.exe |
| python | python_exec() | TRUE | 3.9.1 | C:/Users/dgohe/AppData/Local/Programs/Python/Python39/python.exe |
| libreoffice | libreoffice_exec() | TRUE | 7.1.0.3 | C:/Program Files/LibreOffice/program/soffice.com |
| excel | excel_exec() | TRUE | 16 | C:/Program Files/Microsoft Office/root/Office16/EXCEL.exe |
| powerpoint | powerpoint_exec() | TRUE | 16 | C:/Program Files/Microsoft Office/root/Office16/POWERPNT.exe |
| pip | pip_exec() | TRUE | 20.2.3 | C:/Users/dgohe/AppData/Local/Programs/Python/Python39/Scripts/pip.exe |
| firefox | firefox_exec() | TRUE | 86.0.1 | C:/Program Files/Mozilla Firefox/firefox.exe |
| npm | npm_exec() | TRUE | 6.13.4 | C:/Program Files/nodejs/npm.cmd |
| word | word_exec() | TRUE | 16 | C:/Program Files/Microsoft Office/root/Office16/WINWORD.exe |
Motivations
This was motivated by the need for tools similar to
rmarkdown::pandoc_available() and rmarkdown::pandoc_exec() but
allowing to locate external programs other than pandoc.
I need to use these programs from R without having heavy dependencies. These functions will mainly be used to automate some visual tests or to improve the documentation of other packages.
Installation
You can install the CRAN version with:
install.packages("locatexec")Related work
Packages pagedown is providing
find_chrome()for finding “Google Chrome”.Packages findpython is providing
find_python_cmd()for finding "python".If you want to go deeper with ‘R’ and ‘node.js’, I recommend package packer.
If you want to go deeper with ‘R’ and ‘Python’, I recommend package reticulate.