CODEWITHSUNDEEP
rdropbox
Tyler Rinker
Tyler Rinker

Reputation: 109964

Run R from dropbox

Often in "restricted security" situations in which programs can't be installed on a computer I run R from a flash drive. Works like a charm. I've recently started using dropbox and was thinking it could be used in a similar fashion to the flash drive. For anyone who has tried this does it work?

I can test it myself but don't want to go to the bother if it's a dead end.

Thanks in advance.

PS this has the advantage of storing an .Rprofile that people whom you share the dropbox folder with can then run your R code. This is particularly nice for people unfamiliar with R.

Upvotes: 9

Views: 1192

Answers (2)

Dzidas
Dzidas

Reputation: 305

It is fine if you want to share .Rprofile or .Rhistory. However, I see a problem with .Rdata, because it can be big (for example 4Gb). For me to save 100 Mb file on Dropbox takes minutes and .RData can be far bigger.

An alternative would be a remote server, where you could connect through ssh.

Upvotes: 0

Dirk is no longer here
Dirk is no longer here

Reputation: 368409

It should just work.

R is set up in such a way that all its files are relative to a given top-level directory. Whether that is a F:\ or Z:\ drive from your flashdrive, or your Dropbox folder should not matter.

By the same token, R can run happily off a shared folder, be it via Samba, NFS or another mechanism.

Upvotes: 8

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