Install different R versions from source

A simple shell script to install different versions of R-(3.X.X) directly from source. Tested on Ubuntu 14.04.

Usage

Clone this repository or copy the shell script. Make it executable with chmod +x install_R_source.

The script accepts a single command line argument, which is the version of R that should be installed in the format d.d.d, e.g., 3.4.1. Make sure the requested version is available from https://cran.r-project.org/src/base/R-3/.

Example: ./install_R_source 3.4.1

R is then installed to /usr/local/R/d.d.d, where the executable is located at /usr/local/R/d.d.d/bin/R. The shell scripts creates a symbolic link to /usr/bin/R-d.d.d, such that the correct R version should be stared by typing R-d.d.d in a shell.