[R-package] speed up installation with Visual Studio

.appveyor.yml

@@ -9,6 +9,9 @@ environment:
   matrix:
     - COMPILER: MINGW
       TASK: r-package
+    - COMPILER: MSVC
+      TASK: r-package
+      APPVEYOR_BUILD_WORKER_IMAGE: Visual Studio 2019
     - COMPILER: MSVC
       TASK: python
     - COMPILER: MINGW

.ci/test_r_package_windows.ps1

@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ function Download-File-With-Retries {
 
 $env:R_WINDOWS_VERSION = "3.6.3"
 $env:R_LIB_PATH = "$env:BUILD_SOURCESDIRECTORY/RLibrary" -replace '[\\]', '/'
+$env:R_LIBS = "$env:R_LIB_PATH"
 $env:PATH = "$env:R_LIB_PATH/Rtools/bin;" + "$env:R_LIB_PATH/R/bin/x64;" + "$env:R_LIB_PATH/miktex/texmfs/install/miktex/bin/x64;" + $env:PATH
 $env:CRAN_MIRROR = "https://cloud.r-project.org/"
 $env:CTAN_MIRROR = "https://ctan.math.illinois.edu/systems/win32/miktex/tm/packages/"
@@ -64,45 +65,65 @@ if ($env:COMPILER -eq "MINGW") {
     conda install -q -y --no-deps pandoc
 }
 
-Add-Content .Renviron "R_LIBS=$env:R_LIB_PATH"
-
 Write-Output "Installing dependencies"
-$packages = "c('data.table', 'jsonlite', 'Matrix', 'R6', 'testthat'), dependencies = c('Imports', 'Depends', 'LinkingTo')"
+$packages = "c('data.table', 'jsonlite', 'Matrix', 'processx', 'R6', 'testthat'), dependencies = c('Imports', 'Depends', 'LinkingTo')"
 Rscript --vanilla -e "options(install.packages.check.source = 'no'); install.packages($packages, repos = '$env:CRAN_MIRROR', type = 'binary', lib = '$env:R_LIB_PATH')" ; Check-Output $?
 
 Write-Output "Building R package"
-Rscript build_r.R --skip-install ; Check-Output $?
 
-$PKG_FILE_NAME = Get-Item *.tar.gz
-$LOG_FILE_NAME = "lightgbm.Rcheck/00check.log"
+# R CMD check is not used for MSVC builds
+if ($env:COMPILER -ne "MSVC") {
+  Rscript build_r.R --skip-install ; Check-Output $?
 
-$env:_R_CHECK_FORCE_SUGGESTS_ = 0
-if ($env:COMPILER -ne "MINGW") {
-  Write-Output "Running R CMD check without checking documentation"
-  R.exe CMD check --no-multiarch --no-examples --no-manual --ignore-vignettes ${PKG_FILE_NAME} ; $check_succeeded = $?
-} else {
+  $PKG_FILE_NAME = Get-Item *.tar.gz
+  $LOG_FILE_NAME = "lightgbm.Rcheck/00check.log"
+
+  $env:_R_CHECK_FORCE_SUGGESTS_ = 0
   Write-Output "Running R CMD check as CRAN"
   R.exe CMD check --no-multiarch --as-cran ${PKG_FILE_NAME} ; $check_succeeded = $?
-}
 
-Write-Output "R CMD check build logs:"
-Get-Content -Path $env:BUILD_SOURCESDIRECTORY\lightgbm.Rcheck\00install.out
-
-Check-Output $check_succeeded
+  Write-Output "R CMD check build logs:"
+  $INSTALL_LOG_FILE_NAME = "$env:BUILD_SOURCESDIRECTORY\lightgbm.Rcheck\00install.out"
+  Get-Content -Path "$INSTALL_LOG_FILE_NAME"
+
+  Check-Output $check_succeeded
+
+  Write-Output "Looking for issues with R CMD check results"
+  if (Get-Content "$LOG_FILE_NAME" | Select-String -Pattern "WARNING" -Quiet) {
+      echo "WARNINGS have been found by R CMD check!"
+      Check-Output $False
+  }
+
+  $note_str = Get-Content "${LOG_FILE_NAME}" | Select-String -Pattern ' NOTE' | Out-String ; Check-Output $?
+  $relevant_line = $note_str -match '.*Status: (\d+) NOTE.*'
+  $NUM_CHECK_NOTES = $matches[1]
+  $ALLOWED_CHECK_NOTES = 3
+  if ([int]$NUM_CHECK_NOTES -gt $ALLOWED_CHECK_NOTES) {
+      Write-Output "Found ${NUM_CHECK_NOTES} NOTEs from R CMD check. Only ${ALLOWED_CHECK_NOTES} are allowed"
+      Check-Output $False
+  }
+} else {
+  $INSTALL_LOG_FILE_NAME = "$env:BUILD_SOURCESDIRECTORY\00install_out.txt"
+  Rscript build_r.R *> $INSTALL_LOG_FILE_NAME ; $install_succeeded = $?
+  Write-Output "----- build and install logs -----"
+  Get-Content -Path "$INSTALL_LOG_FILE_NAME"
+  Write-Output "----- end of build and install logs -----"
+  Check-Output $install_succeeded
+}
 
-Write-Output "Looking for issues with R CMD check results"
-if (Get-Content "$LOG_FILE_NAME" | Select-String -Pattern "WARNING" -Quiet) {
-    echo "WARNINGS have been found by R CMD check!"
-    Check-Output $False
+# Checking that we actually got the expected compiler. The R package has some logic
+# to fail back to MinGW if MSVC fails, but for CI builds we need to check that the correct
+# compiler was used.
+$checks = Select-String -Path "${INSTALL_LOG_FILE_NAME}" -Pattern "Check for working CXX compiler.*$env:COMPILER"
+if ($checks.Matches.length -eq 0) {
+  Write-Output "The wrong compiler was used. Check the build logs."
+  Check-Output $False
 }
 
-$note_str = Get-Content "${LOG_FILE_NAME}" | Select-String -Pattern ' NOTE' | Out-String ; Check-Output $?
-$relevant_line = $note_str -match '.*Status: (\d+) NOTE.*'
-$NUM_CHECK_NOTES = $matches[1]
-$ALLOWED_CHECK_NOTES = 3
-if ([int]$NUM_CHECK_NOTES -gt $ALLOWED_CHECK_NOTES) {
-    Write-Output "Found ${NUM_CHECK_NOTES} NOTEs from R CMD check. Only ${ALLOWED_CHECK_NOTES} are allowed"
-    Check-Output $False
+if ($env:COMPILER -eq "MSVC") {
+  Write-Output "Running tests with testthat.R"
+  cd R-package/tests
+  Rscript testthat.R ; Check-Output $?
 }
 
 Write-Output "No issues were found checking the R package"

.vsts-ci.yml

@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ jobs:
     matrix:
       r_package:
         TASK: r-package
-        COMPILER: MINGW
+        COMPILER: MSVC
       regular:
         TASK: regular
         PYTHON_VERSION: 3.6

R-package/DESCRIPTION

@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ Biarch: false
 Suggests:
     ggplot2 (>= 1.0.1),
     knitr,
+    processx,
     rmarkdown,
     testthat
 Depends:

R-package/src/install.libs.R

@@ -12,7 +12,77 @@ R_ver <- as.double(R.Version()$major) + as.double(R.Version()$minor) / 10.0
 
 if (!(R_int_UUID == "0310d4b8-ccb1-4bb8-ba94-d36a55f60262"
     || R_int_UUID == "2fdf6c18-697a-4ba7-b8ef-11c0d92f1327")) {
-  print("Warning: unmatched R_INTERNALS_UUID, may cannot run normally.")
+  warning("Warning: unmatched R_INTERNALS_UUID, may not run normally.")
+}
+
+# system() will not raise an R exception if the process called
+# fails. Wrapping it here to get that behavior.
+#
+# system() introduces a lot of overhead, at least on Windows,
+# so trying processx if it is available
+.run_shell_command <- function(cmd, args, strict = TRUE) {
+    on_windows <- .Platform$OS.type == "windows"
+    has_processx <- suppressMessages({
+      suppressWarnings({
+        require("processx")  # nolint
+      })
+    })
+    if (has_processx && on_windows) {
+      result <- processx::run(
+        command = cmd
+        , args = args
+        , windows_verbatim_args = TRUE
+        , error_on_status = FALSE
+        , echo = TRUE
+      )
+      exit_code <- result$status
+    } else {
+      if (on_windows) {
+        message(paste0(
+          "Using system() to run shell commands. Installing "
+          , "'processx' with install.packages('processx') might "
+          , "make this faster."
+        ))
+      }
+      cmd <- paste0(cmd, " ", paste0(args, collapse = " "))
+      exit_code <- system(cmd)
+    }
+
+    if (exit_code != 0L && isTRUE(strict)) {
+        stop(paste0("Command failed with exit code: ", exit_code))
+    }
+    return(invisible(exit_code))
+}
+
+# try to generate Visual Studio build files
+.generate_vs_makefiles <- function(cmake_args) {
+  vs_versions <- c(
+    "Visual Studio 16 2019"
+    , "Visual Studio 15 2017"
+    , "Visual Studio 14 2015"
+  )
+  working_vs_version <- NULL
+  for (vs_version in vs_versions) {
+    message(sprintf("Trying '%s'", vs_version))
+    # if the build directory is not empty, clean it
+    if (file.exists("CMakeCache.txt")) {
+      file.remove("CMakeCache.txt")
+    }
+    vs_cmake_args <- c(
+      cmake_args
+      , "-G"
+      , shQuote(vs_version)
+      , "-A"
+      , "x64"
+    )
+    exit_code <- .run_shell_command("cmake", c(vs_cmake_args, ".."), strict = FALSE)
+    if (exit_code == 0L) {
+      message(sprintf("Successfully created build files for '%s'", vs_version))
+      return(invisible(TRUE))
+    }
+
+  }
+  return(invisible(FALSE))
 }
 
 # Move in CMakeLists.txt
@@ -41,71 +111,66 @@ if (!use_precompile) {
   setwd(build_dir)
 
   # Prepare installation steps
-  cmake_cmd <- "cmake "
-  build_cmd <- "make _lightgbm"
+  cmake_args <- NULL
+  build_cmd <- "make"
+  build_args <- "_lightgbm"
   lib_folder <- file.path(source_dir, fsep = "/")
 
   if (use_gpu) {
-    cmake_cmd <- paste0(cmake_cmd, " -DUSE_GPU=ON ")
+    cmake_args <- c(cmake_args, "-DUSE_GPU=ON")
   }
   if (R_ver >= 3.5) {
-    cmake_cmd <- paste0(cmake_cmd, " -DUSE_R35=ON ")
+    cmake_args <- c(cmake_args, "-DUSE_R35=ON")
   }
-  cmake_cmd <- paste0(cmake_cmd, " -DBUILD_FOR_R=ON ")
+  cmake_args <- c(cmake_args, "-DBUILD_FOR_R=ON")
 
   # Pass in R version, used to help find R executable for linking
   R_version_string <- paste(
     R.Version()[["major"]]
     , R.Version()[["minor"]]
     , sep = "."
   )
-  cmake_cmd <- sprintf(
-    paste0(cmake_cmd, " -DCMAKE_R_VERSION='%s' ")
-    , R_version_string
-  )
+  r_version_arg <- sprintf("-DCMAKE_R_VERSION='%s'", R_version_string)
+  cmake_args <- c(cmake_args, r_version_arg)
+
+  # the checks below might already run `cmake -G`. If they do, set this flag
+  # to TRUE to avoid re-running it later
+  makefiles_already_generated <- FALSE
 
   # Check if Windows installation (for gcc vs Visual Studio)
   if (WINDOWS) {
     if (use_mingw) {
-      print("Trying to build with MinGW")
-      cmake_cmd <- paste0(cmake_cmd, " -G \"MinGW Makefiles\" ")
-      build_cmd <- "mingw32-make.exe _lightgbm"
-      system(paste0(cmake_cmd, " ..")) # Must build twice for Windows due sh.exe in Rtools
+      message("Trying to build with MinGW")
+      # Must build twice for Windows due sh.exe in Rtools
+      cmake_args <- c(cmake_args, "-G", shQuote("MinGW Makefiles"))
+      .run_shell_command("cmake", c(cmake_args, ".."), strict = FALSE)
+      build_cmd <- "mingw32-make.exe"
+      build_args <- "_lightgbm"
     } else {
-      local_vs_def <- ""
-      vs_versions <- c(
-        "Visual Studio 16 2019"
-        , "Visual Studio 15 2017"
-        , "Visual Studio 14 2015"
-      )
-      for (vs in vs_versions) {
-        print(paste0("Trying to build with: '", vs, "'"))
-        vs_def <- paste0(" -G \"", vs, "\" -A x64")
-        tmp_cmake_cmd <- paste0(cmake_cmd, vs_def)
-        try_vs <- system(paste0(tmp_cmake_cmd, " .."))
-        if (try_vs == 0L) {
-          local_vs_def <- vs_def
-          print(paste0("Building with '", vs, "' succeeded"))
-          break
-        } else {
-          unlink("./*", recursive = TRUE) # Clean up build directory
-        }
-      }
-      if (try_vs == 1L) {
-        print("Building with Visual Studio failed. Attempted with MinGW")
-        cmake_cmd <- paste0(cmake_cmd, " -G \"MinGW Makefiles\" ")
-        system(paste0(cmake_cmd, " ..")) # Must build twice for Windows due sh.exe in Rtools
-        build_cmd <- "mingw32-make.exe _lightgbm"
+      visual_studio_succeeded <- .generate_vs_makefiles(cmake_args)
+      if (!isTRUE(visual_studio_succeeded)) {
+        warning("Building with Visual Studio failed. Attempting with MinGW")
+        # Must build twice for Windows due sh.exe in Rtools
+        cmake_args <- c(cmake_args, "-G", shQuote("MinGW Makefiles"))
+        .run_shell_command("cmake", c(cmake_args, ".."), strict = FALSE)
+        build_cmd <- "mingw32-make.exe"
+        build_args <- "_lightgbm"
       } else {
-        cmake_cmd <- paste0(cmake_cmd, local_vs_def)
-        build_cmd <- "cmake --build . --target _lightgbm --config Release"
+        build_cmd <- "cmake"
+        build_args <- c("--build", ".", "--target", "_lightgbm", "--config", "Release")
         lib_folder <- file.path(source_dir, "Release", fsep = "/")
+        makefiles_already_generated <- TRUE
       }
     }
+  } else {
+      .run_shell_command("cmake", c(cmake_args, ".."))
+      makefiles_already_generated <- TRUE
   }
 
-  # Install
-  system(paste0(cmake_cmd, " .."))
+  # generate build files
+  if (!makefiles_already_generated) {
+    .run_shell_command("cmake", c(cmake_args, ".."))
+  }
 
   # R CMD check complains about the .NOTPARALLEL directive created in the cmake
   # Makefile. We don't need it here anyway since targets are built serially, so trying
@@ -130,7 +195,8 @@ if (!use_precompile) {
     )
   }
 
-  system(build_cmd)
+  # build the library
+  .run_shell_command(build_cmd, build_args)
   src <- file.path(lib_folder, paste0("lib_lightgbm", SHLIB_EXT), fsep = "/")
 
 } else {
@@ -169,7 +235,7 @@ if (!use_precompile) {
 dest <- file.path(R_PACKAGE_DIR, paste0("libs", R_ARCH), fsep = "/")
 dir.create(dest, recursive = TRUE, showWarnings = FALSE)
 if (file.exists(src)) {
-  print(paste0("Found library file: ", src, " to move to ", dest))
+  message(paste0("Found library file: ", src, " to move to ", dest))
   file.copy(src, dest, overwrite = TRUE)
 
   symbols_file <- file.path(source_dir, "symbols.rds")
@@ -183,7 +249,7 @@ if (file.exists(src)) {
 
 # clean up the "build" directory
 if (dir.exists(build_dir)) {
-  print("Removing 'build/' directory")
+  message("Removing 'build/' directory")
   unlink(
     x = build_dir
     , recursive = TRUE