Package Development

My R package development creds

I really ❤️ R package development

• Volunteer editor for rOpenSci Software Peer Review.

• At work, maintenance of rOpenSci dev guide.

• Created the R-hub blog.

• Worked on the HTTP testing in R book.

My R package development creds

Contributed to

• pkgdown 2.0.0 (to produce documentation websites for packages)

• fledge 0.1.0 (Smoother change tracking and versioning for R packages)

• glitter 0.1.0 (a SPARQL domain-specific language)

Why develop an R package?

Easiest way to share code/data/R Markdown templates… with

• (future) you,

• the collaborators you know,

• and the collaborators you don’t.

Why learning about package development?

Jon Calder’s very good wording

• To share code (and data);

• To leverage existing tooling;

• To contribute to other packages.

Who can write a package? YOU!

Susan Johnston’s wise words.

• Can you open R or RStudio?

• Can you install a package?

• Have you ever written a function in R?

• Could you learn how to write a function in R?

➡️ You can write a package in R!

Learn about functions

• Materials from Stephanie Kirmer’s R-Ladies East Lansing tutorial

• Write your own R functions, stat 545 course by Jenny Bryan and The STAT 545 TAs;

• Chapter about functions in the book “R for Data Science” by Garrett Grolemund and Hadley Wickham;

• Fun with Functions talk by Kaylea Haynes, R-Ladies Manchester.

What is a package?

Pour réduire ses craintes, il faut se dire que ce n’est ni plus ni moins qu’un dossier organisé d’une manière contrainte.

To be less afraid you have to tell yourself that it’s simply a folder organized in a constrained way.

Sébastien Rochette

Automation!

Automating… How?

Remember Clippy?

Automating… How?

Get to know an actually useful Clippy, {usethis}!

Why automate? Easier for…

Regular work, teaching, reproducing problems.

Goals for today

• Get to know (the best 😇) tools for package development;

• Learn that there is no magic, only practice and ✨ tips ✨.

Website tour

🔗 https://rpkgdev-mechanics.netlify.app/

Slides, demo notes, further resources

Time for the workshop 🚲

Alternating between watching and practicing in breakout rooms.

Back from the workshop

{usethis} for all the things.

usethis related content in .Rprofile

Like saving the settings of a bike.

No need to adjust the saddle height every time you go for a ride!

Two wheels always turning 🚲

• loading, trying out, editing.

• running (adding) the tests, editing. Tests are a safety measure and a time saver!

R CMD check (devtools::check())

So what’s really hard?

• Writing good code.

• Writing a good interface.

• Writing good docs.

More with packages

• usethis::use_rmarkdown_template().

• Distributing data usethis::use_data().

• Packaging a Shiny app (look for examples, and golemverse).

• Reproducible analyses, research compendium.

Less with packages

• If developing a package for wider distribution, check it does not exist yet.

• Miles McBain’s post “Project as an R package: An okay idea”.

Questions?

See you at the next package development training?

via GIPHY