On Tue, 14 Jun 2011, Stephen Ellison wrote:
I'm sure i've seen the answer to this, but can't find it:
If there is executable code in an R package .R file that does not
return a function (that is, something like x <- rnorm(5), outside
any function body ), what will actually happens at build and load
time?
And (more importantly, so I can point a colleague to documented
guidance on the matter) is there somewhere in R's docs that says why
this is not likely to be a good idea and suggests the sort of things
it is sensible - or not sensible - to include in .R files?
It is documented in 'Writing R Extensions':
The R subdirectory contains R code files, only.
...
It should be possible to read in the files using source(), so R
objects must be created by assignments. Note that there need be no
connection between the name of the file and the R objects created by
it. Ideally, the R code files should only directly assign R objects
and definitely should not call functions with side effects such as
require and options. If computations are required to create objects
these can use code `earlier' in the package (see the `Collate' field)
plus, only if lazyloading is used, functions in the `Depends' packages
provided that the objects created do not depend on those packages
except via name space imports. (Packages without name spaces will work
under somewhat less restrictive assumptions.)
So your example creates an object 'x' in the package or name space.
Which is perfectly legal, but maybe not intentional. For example, R's
base package does
## needs to run after paste()
.leap.seconds <- local({
.leap.seconds <-
c("1972-6-30", "1972-12-31", "1973-12-31", "1974-12-31",
"1975-12-31", "1976-12-31", "1977-12-31", "1978-12-31",
"1979-12-31", "1981-6-30", "1982-6-30", "1983-6-30",
"1985-6-30", "1987-12-31", "1989-12-31", "1990-12-31",
"1992-6-30", "1993-6-30", "1994-6-30","1995-12-31",
"1997-6-30", "1998-12-31", "2005-12-31", "2008-12-31")
.leap.seconds <- strptime(paste(.leap.seconds , "23:59:60"),
"%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
c(as.POSIXct(.leap.seconds, "GMT")) # lose the timezone
})
S Ellison
--
Brian D. Ripley, rip...@stats.ox.ac.uk
Professor of Applied Statistics, http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~ripley/
University of Oxford, Tel: +44 1865 272861 (self)
1 South Parks Road, +44 1865 272866 (PA)
Oxford OX1 3TG, UK Fax: +44 1865 272595
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