[ADMB Users] ADMB as a backbone of an R package - how difficult is this?

[Philipp Doebler]

Hello,

I am in the process of working on an R-package
(http://r-forge.r-project.org/projects/mada/). A central model in the
package is currently fitted using optim(), which is acceptable, but
since I plan to extend the model further, optim gets less and less
attractive, especially with simulations in mind. After reading about
ADMB I toyed around with it and realized that the executables produced
can be used in an R-package.

I studied the structure of the glmmADMB package and realized that I
probably cannot just use the C++ code produced by ADMB and include it
in my R-package, but I will have to produce executables for each
platform, including .dll files. I am aware that producing dll-files is
not straightforward as of now, but nevertheless I am eager to try. I
am not fluent in any higher programming language, so using ADMB feels
like a convenient route. So my questions are:

1) How much time/effort does one have to put into producing .dll
files, files for mac os x, linux 32 bit and other non-native systems,
granted that the ADMB model itself is already written and working on
one platform? (I am working on a 64bit linux and I am far from an
experienced software developer.).

2) Are there any posts on this list or other howtos for dll production?

3) I believe I am only using a tiny fraction of ADMB's functions, so
are there ways to isolate this portion of functions and just include
them as c++ header files in an R-package? Are there objections to this
with respect to licenses? (my package is currently under GPL)


With best wishes, Philipp