Question

I have a recurrent problem when using R with a Linux console. I sometimes suspend it with [Ctrl+Z], then put it to the background with bg, (execute some other commands), then put it to the foreground again with fg.

R resumes correctly with all the workspace intact, but when I type, the characters are invisible (just like when we type passwords).

I still can execute commands though, and I see the response. Moreover, when I type [enter], the prompt doesn’t go to the next line, but does something like this: > > >.

Then I need to quit R using q(), in order that everything returns to normal. I didn’t manage to find any reference to this problem on internet.

Would you have an idea? Thanks a lot for your help.

Answer 1

No direct answer but via

“Doctor, doctor, it hurts when I do this.”

“Then just don’t do this.”

I would suggest that if you must have an R console open, place it inside screen — or if you have it, byobu a fancier extensions, or even tmux.

Or even inside the One True Editor (TM) using ESS. For what it is worth, I always run emacs --daemon and then connect to the same R session either via emacsclient -nw on the terminal or under X11 via emacsclient -c (both of which I aliased to emt and emx). I also run byobu sessions for command-line work where I often use littler for command-line tasks and tests.

Unix is a multitasking system. There is no need to limit yourself to one prompt, especially if you suffer side-effects as a consequence.