I create & maintain all my packages using the 'mvbutils' package. Documentation in plain-text format (not Rd) is stored along with each function definition--- so when you edit your function, its doco is right there too, and it looks like proper documentation, not code-comments or quasi-Latex. The entire package source tree, including the Rd files, is created automatically by the 'preinstall' function, after which you can then R-BUILD the package as usual. However, with 'mvbutils' you only need R-BUILD when you want a distribution version for others. Normal maintenance doesn't require R-BUILD; you can add/remove/edit functions, documentation, and data to the package on-the-fly while it is loaded, with no need to unload/uninstall/rebuild/reload.
It works with compiled code, too. My own way of working with compiled code is a bit different to most other people's, but colleagues who use more traditional routes have also successfully used 'mvbutils' to build and maintain their packages. In the spirit of several other replies-- I spent months developing this stuff and getting it to run smoothly, precisely because I'm lazy and have a limited memory... HTH (though whether "yet another approach is..." will actually help you, I'm not sure) Mark Mark Bravington CSIRO CMIS Marine Lab Hobart Australia ________________________________________ From: r-devel-boun...@r-project.org [r-devel-boun...@r-project.org] On Behalf Of Paul Johnson [pauljoh...@gmail.com] Sent: 10 September 2011 02:38 To: r-de...@stat.math.ethz.ch Subject: [Rd] Please explain your workflow from R code -> package -> R code -> package Hi, I'm asking another one of those questions that would be obvious if I could watch your work while you do it. I'm having trouble understanding the workflow of code and package maintenance. Stage 1. Make some R functions in a folder. This is in a Subversion repo R/trunk/myproject Stage 2. Make a package: After the package.skeleton, and R check, I have a new folder with the project in it, R/trunk/myproject/mypackage DESCRIPTION man R I to into the man folder and manually edit the Rd files. I don't change anything in the R folder because I think it is OK so far. And eventually I end up with a tarball mypackage_1.0.tar.gz. Stage 3. How to make the round trip? I add more R code, and re-generate a package. package.skeleton obliterates the help files I've already edited. So keeping the R code in sync with the documentation appears to be a hassle. In other languages, I've seen to write the documentation inside the code files and then post-process to make the documentation. Is there a similar thing for R, to unify the R code development and documentation/package-making process? pj -- Paul E. Johnson Professor, Political Science 1541 Lilac Lane, Room 504 University of Kansas ______________________________________________ R-devel@r-project.org mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-devel ______________________________________________ R-devel@r-project.org mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-devel
