[POLL] ob-R, ob-julia: Should we force-disable ess-ask-for-ess-directory? (was: [BUG] Relative filenames for graphics output in ob-R.el [9.8-pre (release_9.7.4-80-g7fa169)])

[Ihor Radchenko <yantar92@posteo.net>]

[ Adding Org mailing list back to CC to keep the conversation public ]

Sam Crawford <sam@crawf.uk> writes:

>>  May you please create a reproducer?
>
> Sure: evaluating the following code cell
>
> #+begin_src R :session R :async yes :results file graphics :file test.png
>   plot(iris$Sepal.Length, iris$Sepal.Width)
> #+end_src
>
> will call run-ess-r, which gives a prompt asking for the "R starting directory". Selecting any directory other than the directory the org file is located in will cause the issue.

I can reproduce, but I am not sure if this is something we are supposed
to fix.

The Org mode manual says the following about :dir header argument in
code blocks:

    The ‘dir’ header argument specifies the default directory during code
    block execution.  If it is absent, then the directory associated with
    the current buffer is used.
    ...
       When ‘dir’ is used with ‘session’, Org sets the starting directory
    for a new session.  But Org does not alter the directory of an already
    existing session.

ob-R currently does not obey what the manual says, and, when :dir is
omitted, allows the session directory to be set via prompt rather than
keeping the Org buffer's directory.

I'd like to hear from ob-R/ob-julia users whether the current behavior
is something they rely on. If not, I'd prefer to follow the conventions
we introduce in the manual and suppress the ESS's directory prompt.

-- 
Ihor Radchenko // yantar92,
Org mode contributor,
Learn more about Org mode at <https://orgmode.org/>.
Support Org development at <https://liberapay.com/org-mode>,
or support my work at <https://liberapay.com/yantar92>