[R-pkg-devel] rcnst issue

[Hugh Parsonage]

I recently noticed a package of mine, TeXCheckR, is failing "rcnst"
under "Additional issues". My package is one of only three to fail
this check. I'd like help from the mailing list to fix this issue (or
to be told not to fix it if it should not be fixed).

I read
  https://github.com/kalibera/cran-checks/blob/master/rcnst/CONSTANTS.md
and the report at
  https://github.com/kalibera/cran-checks/blob/master/rcnst/results/TeXCheckR/00check.log

The text at CONSTANTS.md and the relevant entry at
 https://cran.r-project.org/doc/manuals/r-release/R-exts.html#Named-objects-and-copying
suggests that this error is only contemplated with packages with
compiled (C/C++) code. Since R automatically handles NAMED, my
understanding was that an R package that does not need compilation
should never encounter this error. Clearly my understanding is wrong,
as TeXCheckR does not require compilation yet fails this test.

The only clue I have is that the error occurs during a test of a
function which (through another package) calls %fin% from the
fastmatch package. Package fastmatch does require compilation and does
appear to modify the value of c(".", "?"). Do I need to stop using
%fin% inside packages to avoid this error, or is the cause of the
error elsewhere? I have some doubt that %fin% is totally to blame as
the package through which %fin% is eventually called does not
encounter the same error.


Many thanks,

Hugh Parsonage
Grattan Institute