  Pre-compiled binary packages provide a very convenient way of efficiently
distributing software that has been adopted by most Linux package management
systems. However, the heterogeneity of the Linux ecosystem, combined with the
growing number of R extensions available, poses a scalability problem. As a
result, efforts to bring binary R packages to Linux have been scattered, and
lack a proper mechanism to fully integrate them with R's package manager. This
work reviews past and present of binary distribution for Linux, and presents a
path forward by showcasing the `cran2copr' project, an RPM-based
proof-of-concept implementation of an automated scalable binary distribution
system with the capability of building, maintaining and distributing thousands
of packages, while providing a portable and extensible bridge to the system
package manager.
