R in batch mode

Question

Is it necessary to have Rtools installed for running R in Batch mode, or is it fine if i just set up the environment variable for R.exe

Answer 1

I'm pretty sure that I don't use Rtools when running R in batch mode on Windows Vista (because I've never specifically downloaded it).

You could set up the environment variable for R.exe and do it that way, or better yet, use batchfiles. I like the latter method because it always seems to point to the latest version of R on your computer which for me personally is very convenient and saves time.

Answer 2

You do not need Rtools to run R, you only need Rtools to build R packages from source on the one platform that already gets them as binaries, ie Windows.

If you installed R on Windows the usual way, both R.exe and Rscript.exe will already be in your path.

Use Rscript.exe for batch processing / scripting of R, and see previous questions on StackOverflow for more on Rscript.