[R-pkg-devel] Inquiry

[Rolf Turner]

On Wed, 28 Sep 2022 05:19:06 -0400
Duncan Murdoch <murdoch.duncan using gmail.com> wrote:

<SNIP>

> However, some users are package writers.  Once their package is on
> CRAN, it can be really inconvenient for you to change the behaviour
> of internal functions that they use, because CRAN will object if your 
> change breaks their tests.  That makes it harder to write those
> internal functions, because you have to get them "right" the first
> time, or support the bad behaviour if someone relied on it.

Surely package writers should not write code that uses internal
functions, irrespective of whether these functions are exported.
I don't think that I ever have.  (That last could be wishful thinking I
guess.)

Not exporting makes it harder for package writers to know about the
*existence* of such functions, but it's not impossible (or even really
difficult) for a package-writer-type to find out about them.

The write can always then make a copy of the code in their own package,
which eliminates the problem with dependencies.

Anyway, does everybody 'get them "right" the first time'? :-)

cheers,

Rolf


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