[R-pkg-devel] How and where do I document sysdata.rda

[Hugh Parsonage]

One relatively simple mechanism would be to export a function that
simply returns the internal lookup data, and to then document that
function.

On Sat, 22 Mar 2025 at 23:05, Michael Dewey <lists using dewey.myzen.co.uk> wrote:
>
> Dear Charles
>
> I agree and in fact that was in the back of my mind when I started this.
> I felt I should document it even though the chances of anyone wanting to
> access it still less edit it were almost indistinguishable from zero. I
> am reluctant to use a suggestion like yours as then I will have
> documentation created in diferent ways and that raises the possibility
> that they may interact
>
> I have had a number of useful hints in the answers to my original
> question and I think I see a way forward. I will report back when I have
> digested them.
>
> Michael
>
> On 20/03/2025 23:50, Charles Plessy wrote:
> > Le Thu, Mar 20, 2025 at 12:56:49PM -0400, Kevin R. Coombes a écrit :
> >> If it is *only *in sysdata.Rda, then it is accessible to your package
> >> code but is not available to users. (They can't, for example, use the
> >> "data" function to load it themselves.) So, there is no reason to
> >> document it.
> >
> > Hello Kevin and Michael,
> >
> > Users who care about software provenance, security and software freedom would
> > love to see it documented, because binary objects are hard to audit when there
> > is no description of what they are expected to contain.
> >
> > Redistributors who give guarantees to their users about software freedom, like
> > Debian, also want to see that these objects are easy to modify in case of need
> > (that is: the developer does not keep some secret receipes about how the object
> > is made to keep an advantage against forks and other forms of competition), and
> > to be able to check by themselves that they were not built from data that is
> > not placed under too restrictive terms.
> >
> > When I write R packages and when I reeistribute CRAN/Bioconductor pakcages in
> > Debian, I find that the way documented in the R Packages book (./data-raw/,
> > usethis::use_data(), etc.) fits my needs very well.
> >
> > Have a nice day,
> >
> > Charles
> >
> > --
> > Charles Plessy                         Nagahama, Yomitan, Okinawa, Japan
> > Debian Med packaging team         http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-med
> > Tooting from home                  https://framapiaf.org/@charles_plessy
> > - You  do not have  my permission  to use  this email  to train  an AI -
> >
> >
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>
> --
> Michael Dewey
>
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