[Rd] Please explain your workflow from R code -> package -> R code -> package

[Spencer Graves]

       I write the *.Rd file including examples that I use as unit tests 
before I write the code.  Others criticize this approach insisting that 
\examples is NOT a place for unit tests.  There are unit testing 
protocols for R that I have not learned.  Instead, I rely on \dontshow 
inside \examples.


       There are two documents on CRAN -> "Documentation:  Contributed" 
entitled "Creating R Packages".  They might help.


       Hope this helps.
       Spencer


On 9/9/2011 9:49 AM, Joshua Ulrich wrote:
> On Fri, Sep 9, 2011 at 11:38 AM, Paul Johnson<pauljohn32 at gmail.com>  wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> I'm asking another one of those questions that would be obvious if I
>> could watch your work while you do it.
>>
>> I'm having trouble understanding the workflow of code and package maintenance.
>>
>> Stage 1.  Make some R functions in a folder.  This is in a Subversion repo
>>
>> R/trunk/myproject
>>
>> Stage 2. Make a package:
>>
>> After the package.skeleton, and R check, I have a new folder with the
>> project in it,
>>
>> R/trunk/myproject/mypackage
>>   DESCRIPTION
>>   man
>>   R
>>
>> I to into the man folder and manually edit the Rd files. I don't
>> change anything in the R folder because I think it is OK so far.
>>
>> And eventually I end up with a tarball mypackage_1.0.tar.gz.
>>
>> Stage 3. How to make the round trip? I add more R code, and
>> re-generate a package.
>>
>> package.skeleton obliterates the help files I've already edited.
>>
> See ?dump and ?prompt.
>
>> So keeping the R code in sync with the documentation appears to be a hassle.
>>
>> In other languages, I've seen to write the documentation inside the
>> code files and then post-process to make the documentation.  Is there
>> a similar thing for R, to unify the R code development and
>> documentation/package-making process?
>>
> Yes.  See the roxygen / roxygen2 and devtools packages.
>
>> pj
>>
>> --
>> Paul E. Johnson
>> Professor, Political Science
>> 1541 Lilac Lane, Room 504
>> University of Kansas
>>
>> ______________________________________________
>> R-devel at r-project.org mailing list
>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-devel
>>
> Best,
> --
> Joshua Ulrich  |  FOSS Trading: www.fosstrading.com
>
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