[R-pkg-devel] nit-picking about CRAN repository policy

[Ben Bolker]

   Folks,

   CRAN has recently set up an auxiliary 'noSuggests' test platform that 
tests that packages are using suggested packages conditionally, as 
recommended in Writing R Extensions, and as (sort of) specified in the 
CRAN repository policy.

   Specifically, the CRP (revision 5236) says:

 > A package listed in ‘Suggests’ or ‘Enhances’ should be used 
conditionally in examples or tests if it cannot straightforwardly be 
installed on the major R platforms. (‘Writing R Extensions’ recommends 
that they are always used conditionally.)

   One of my packages failed on the 'noSuggest' test platform 
<https://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/pub/bdr/noSuggests/bbmle.out> because two 
suggested packages were used unconditionally in the vignette. There are 
two reasons (IMO) that this should *not* have triggered a threat of 
archiving:

   (1) the unconditional package use was in a vignette, not in examples 
or tests
   (2) the relevant packages (AICcmodavg and MuMIn) are available on 
CRAN and install easily on Linux/Windows/MacOS (they are R-only, no 
compiled code or extra requirements, binaries are available on CRAN).

    Is it worth suggesting to CRAN maintainers that either they refine 
their 'noSuggests' test so that it conforms to the wording in the CRP, 
or that they change the CRP wording to something stricter like

 > Any package listed in ‘Suggests’ or ‘Enhances’ should be used 
conditionally in examples, tests, and vignettes.

  ?

   cheers
     Ben Bolker