Its my 1st time using Azure ML and I am having a rough time. I need to install multiple R packages that are not provided by default in Azure ML. To make it simple, lets assume that I only need to install the forecast package.
Based on what is written here, I also need to plan the installation of the dependencies of the forecast package. However, based on the documentation, the forecast package has almost a dozen dependencies. Furthermore, these dependencies probably have dependencies that are not installed by default in Azure ML. In addition, it does not seem quite right to upload a zip file in Azure ML and to try to make all the dependencies work out.
Is there any other way to install the forecast package that is easier and simpler than what I found online? What do companies do? Uploading a zip file does not seem viable!
You can use miniCRAN (https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/miniCRAN/index.html) to build the zip file with all dependencies included then upload the zip file and use it to install your required packages. It also allows you to choose the target platform (type="win.binary") and R version (RVersion="3.1") which are crucial when using Azure ML. There is a tutorial here (http://blog.revolutionanalytics.com/2015/10/using-minicran-in-azure-ml.html) that outlines the steps.