[R-pkg-devel] UseR! Session: Navigating the jungle of R packages.

[Jim Lemon]

This discussion started me thinking about searching for a function or
package, as many questions on the R help list indicate the that poster
couldn't find (or hasn't searched for) what they want. I don't think I
have ever used task views. If I haven't got a clue where to look for
something, I use Google. I can't recall an occasion when I didn't get
an answer, even if it was that what I wanted didn't exist. Perhaps we
should ask why Google is so good at answering uninformed questions, in
particular about R. I'm not the only person on the help list who
advises the clueless to try Google.

Jim


On Sat, Feb 11, 2017 at 3:51 AM, Ben Bolker <bbolker at gmail.com> wrote:
>   I definitely read the task views and advise others to do so.  I
> don't know how representative my little corner of the world is,
> though.
>
>   I have an embryonic task view on mixed models at
> https://github.com/bbolker/mixedmodels-misc/blob/master/MixedModels.ctv
> but the perfect is the enemy of the good ...
>
>
> On Fri, Feb 10, 2017 at 9:56 AM, J C Nash <profjcnash at gmail.com> wrote:
>> We'd be more than happy to have you contribute directly. The goal is not
>> just an
>> information session, but to get some movement to ways to make the package
>> collection(s)
>> easier to use effectively. Note to selves: "effectively" is important -- we
>> could make
>> things easy by only recommending a few packages.
>>
>> Best, JN
>>
>>
>> On 2017-02-10 09:29 AM, Michael Dewey wrote:
>>>
>>> Dear all
>>>
>>> That seems an interesting session. I am the maintainer of one of the CRAN
>>> Task Views (MetaAnalysis) and will attend
>>> unless I am successful in the draw for Wimbledon tickets.
>>>
>>> Just in case I strike lucky one question I would have raised from the
>>> floor if I were there would have been "Does anyone
>>> read the Task Views?". Since I started mine I have received only a couple
>>> of suggestions for additions including a very
>>> abrupt one about a package which had been included for months but whose
>>> author clearly did not read before writing. So I
>>> would ask whether we need to focus much energy on the Task Views.
>>>
>>> So, maybe see you there, maybe not.
>>>
>>>
>>> On 16/01/2017 14:57, ProfJCNash wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Navigating the Jungle of R Packages
>>>>
>>>> The R ecosystem has many packages in various collections,
>>>> especially CRAN, Bioconductor, and GitHub. While this
>>>> richness of choice speaks to the popularity and
>>>> importance of R, the large number of contributed packages
>>>> makes it difficult for users to find appropriate tools for
>>>> their work.
>>>>
>>>> A session on this subject has been approved for UseR! in
>>>> Brussels. The tentative structure is three short
>>>> introductory presentations, followed by discussion or
>>>> planning work to improve the tools available to help
>>>> users find the best R package and function for their needs.
>>>>
>>>> The currently proposed topics are
>>>>
>>>> - wrapper packages that allow diverse tools that perform
>>>>   similar functions to be accessed by unified calls
>>>>
>>>> - collaborative mechanisms to create and update Task Views
>>>>
>>>> - search and sort tools to find packages.
>>>>
>>>> At the time of writing we have tentative presenters for
>>>> the topics, but welcome others. We hope these presentations
>>>> at useR! 2017 will be part of a larger discussion that will
>>>> contribute to an increased team effort after the conference
>>>> to improve the the support for R users in these areas.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> John Nash, Julia Silge, Spencer Graves
>>>>
>>>> ______________________________________________
>>>> R-package-devel at r-project.org mailing list
>>>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-package-devel
>>>>
>>>
>>
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