R system call failing due to arithmetic operator

Question

I am trying to mimic the results of a fasttext command line operation in R using the system function. When I run the prompt in the command line I get the desired results as below:

F:\>fasttext print-sentence-vectors model.bin < sentences.txt
   0.072631 0.036104 0.0046829 0.057456 0.03449

When I try to mimic this in R I get the following:

> system("fasttext print-sentence-vectors model.bin < sentences.txt")
  usage: fasttext print-sentence-vectors <model>

  <model>      model filename

  [1] 1

I believe the issue is the requirement of "<" in the command line since when I remove it from the command line prompt I get

F:\>fasttext print-sentence-vectors model.bin sentences.txt
usage: fasttext print-sentence-vectors <model>

<model>      model filename

Same as what I get in R. So my question is, how do I go about resolving this in R ? I tried various versions with the paste function as well as wrapping the < in quotes but nothing seemed to work.

Tried shell() as per a comment below and got this error message

> shell("fasttext print-sentence-vectors model.bin < sentences.txt")
'\\mypathname\fasttextstuff'
CMD.EXE was started with the above path as the current directory.
UNC paths are not supported.  Defaulting to Windows directory.
The system cannot find the file specified.
Warning message:
In shell("fasttext print-sentence-vectors model.bin < sentences.txt") :
  'fasttext print-sentence-vectors model.bin < sentences.txt' execution failed with error code 1

Turns out shell() worked as per the comment below with a directory change.

The redirection symbol < is handled by your command shell, not by fasttext. It looks as though you are on Windows, and on that OS R doesn't run a shell when running system(). Use shell() instead. — user2554330
– user2554330, Commented Aug 1, 2023 at 12:23
Tried that, didn't work, will edit question with the error message — astel
– astel, Commented Aug 1, 2023 at 12:25
Looks like your current directory is something that CMD.EXE doesn't support. It's been a long time since I used Windows, so I don't know the current workarounds. In the old days you'd set up a drive letter for the UNC path, and use something like cd D: to make it current. — user2554330
– user2554330, Commented Aug 1, 2023 at 12:41
I mean, the comment answered the question, wouldn't it be more appropriate for the commenter to write the answer? — astel
– astel, Commented Aug 1, 2023 at 13:41

user2554330 · Accepted Answer · 2023-08-01 15:19:23Z

2

The redirection symbol < is handled by your command shell, not by fasttext. It looks as though you are on Windows, and on that OS R doesn't run a shell when running system(). Use shell() instead.

After that failed, this fixes it: make sure that your current directory uses a drive letter (e.g. D:), not a UNC path, which CMD.EXE doesn't like.

answered Aug 1, 2023 at 15:19

user2554330

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