[R-pkg-devel] Submission to CRAN when package needs personal data (API key)

[Duncan Murdoch]

On 07/09/2018 2:18 AM, David Hugh-Jones wrote:
> 
> 
> On Fri, 7 Sep 2018 at 01:16, Duncan Murdoch <murdoch.duncan using gmail.com 
> <mailto:murdoch.duncan using gmail.com>> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
>     When packages delete tests just for CRAN, the quality of the repository
>     suffers.  Users should be able to check an install by running the tests
>     that passed on CRAN and seeing them pass on their system as well.
> 
> 
> In my limited experience there are usually tests that can't run on CRAN 
>   because they take too long, rely on external software or configuration 
> that is absent, or just fail on CRAN only (which is naturally hard to 
> debug). This seems normal, and having the ability to turn off some tests 
> is useful. The fact that multiple workarounds have evolved to do this 
> suggests that the need is widespread.

I think it's useful to think of 3 groups who might run tests:

  - authors
  - CRAN
  - other users of a package.

What Hadley was arguing for is that CRAN should identify itself to a 
package, so that by default a package could run different tests for
CRAN than for other users.  I am arguing that they should run the same 
tests by default.

Clearly authors might want more extensive tests like the ones you mention.

I think it would be a good thing if a standard method evolved for others 
to ask for those tests as well.  That suggestion was made and support 
for it was added to R back in 2014.  So far standardization hasn't 
happened, which could indicate that it isn't really needed, or just that 
nobody has bothered to push for it.

Duncan Murdoch