[R-pkg-devel] CRAN write to home policy

[Uwe Ligges]

On 26.03.2018 23:48, Ogan Mancarci wrote:
> This is from  CRAN repository policy:
> 
> "Packages should not write in the user’s home filespace (including
> clipboards), nor anywhere else on the file system apart from the R
> session’s temporary directory (or during installation in the location
> pointed to by TMPDIR: and such usage should be cleaned up). (…) Limited
> exceptions may be allowed in interactive sessions if the package obtains
> confirmation from the user."
> 
> I am unclear about the scope of this rule. For instance if I had this
> function:
> 
> antiSocialWriteLines = function(text, file = 'defaultFile', ...){
>      writeLines(text , file, ...)
> }
> 


Simply use file=tempfile() as the default so you do not overwrite stuff 
in the user filespace and the user can insert another filename which is 
the confirmation.

Best,
Uwe Ligges



> would I be allowed to add it to a package since it writes to a file by
> default without asking for confirmation?
> 
> Frankly reading this text, I feel like even writeLines itself violates it
> as it writes without "confirmation" once you give it a file path.
> 
> 	[[alternative HTML version deleted]]
> 
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