[R-pkg-devel] DESCRIPTION file question

[taylor brown]

Hi everyone,

I have a question about the DESCRIPTION file of an R package that has some c++ dependencies. 

This package of mine builds c++ code during an interactive R session, but does not contain any source c++ in itself. The c++ files make reference to some dependencies that are made available by other third party R packages.

LinkingTo is the appropriate field for the DESCRIPTION file (usually) here, not Imports, but if If I remove the dependencies (BH and RcppEigen) from the Imports field, the code examples in the vignette will fail to build on a fresh machine. 

The NOTES in my build mention that, because I have no src/ directory, LinkingTo is ignored. Simultaneously, there is another note that mentions Imports is also excessive. 

It’s kind of a catch 22. It feels like my options are either add the Imports lines and ignore the NOTE, or add a superfluous src/ directory to silence the NOTE. Which option is the preferred one? Or is there a third?

Best,

Taylor R. Brown, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Statistics, General Faculty
Department of Statistics
University of Virginia
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