title: Running Ruby Script via shell() function
body: <p>I'm trying to (eventually) execute a ruby script via R by calling the shell() function. As a first step though, I am simply trying to verify that I can call the ruby compiler via this function, and I am getting an error. Here is my code:</p>
  
  <pre><code>dir &lt;- shell("ruby -v", intern=TRUE) 
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>This throws a warning: Warning message: running command   </p>
  
  <pre><code>'C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe /c ruby -v' had status 1
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>And the 'dir' variable is blank. I have verified that the command "ruby -v" works when run in a command prompt, and that Ruby is included in my system path variables. </p>