[R] Learning to Write R Packages (Libraries) with Documentation

[Bert Gunter]

Oh, I also would assume that the authoritative, current doc for R package
development is "Writing R Extensions," which of course is part of all R
distros.

-- Bert

Bert Gunter

"The trouble with having an open mind is that people keep coming along and
sticking things into it."
-- Opus (aka Berkeley Breathed in his "Bloom County" comic strip )


On Sun, Feb 17, 2019 at 11:35 AM Bert Gunter <bgunter.4567 using gmail.com> wrote:

> This is off topic for this list. Post to r-package-devel for questions
> about writing r packages, package docs, etc. Note especially the use of
> namespaces to avoid name clashes.
>
> -- Bert
>
> Bert Gunter
>
> "The trouble with having an open mind is that people keep coming along and
> sticking things into it."
> -- Opus (aka Berkeley Breathed in his "Bloom County" comic strip )
>
>
> On Sun, Feb 17, 2019 at 11:27 AM Ivo Welch <ivo.welch using gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I would like to put together a set of my collected utility functions and
>> share them internally.  (I don't think they are of any broader interest.)
>> To do this, I still want to follow good practice.  I am particularly
>> confused about writing docs.
>>
>> * for documentation, how do I refer to '@'-type documentation rather than
>> the latex-like format?  I have read descriptions where both are referred
>> to
>> as roxygen-type.  I believe that devtools::document() translates the more
>> convenient @-type into the latex-like format.
>>
>> * where do I find current good examples of R functions documented properly
>> with the '@' format.   What should be taken from the function itself
>> (name?
>> usage?) so as to not repeat myself?
>>
>> * when I run `document()`, does devtools create a set of documentation
>> files that I can also easily import by itself into another R session?  I
>> am
>> asking because I want to put a few functions into my .Rprofile, generate
>> the documentation, and import it by hand.
>>
>> * my utility functions currently live in their own environment to avoid
>> name conflicts ( such as mywork$read.csv <- cmpfun(function()
>> message("specialized")) ).
>>
>>   - is keeping function collections in environments a good or bad idea in
>> a
>> library?
>>   - will generating a package automatically compile all the functions, so
>> that I should lose the `cmpfun`s ?
>>   - to export the functions for others' uses, presumably I should place an
>> "#` @export" just before the function.
>>
>> * is there integration between Rmd and R documentation?  Can/should I use
>> Rmd for writing documentation for my functions and have this become
>> available through the built-in help system?  Or are the two really
>> separate.
>>
>> /iaw
>>
>> PS: Yes, I tried to do my homework.  apparently, the R ecosystem has been
>> moving fast.  I start reading something, it seems great, but then I find
>> out that it does not work.  For example, I tried the "Object
>> Documentation"
>> example from Hadley's book from 2015, but I think it is outdated.  (My
>> `document()` run seems to want an explicit @name.  Hilary Parker's nice
>> tutorial is outdated, too, as are many others.  The popular load.Rd
>> example
>> is already in the latex format. etc.)  where should I look for definitive
>> documentation for the *current* package writing ecosystem?
>>
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>>
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>

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