Why not add an install function to foyer that would get the large data package? Have examples and vignette use a small test data set, so only end users would actually install the large data set. Regards, Brian
--Brian G. Peterson ph: 773-459-4973im: bgpbraverockSent from my mobile, please excuse my brevity. -------- Original message -------- From: Hugh Parsonage <hugh.parson...@gmail.com> Date: 3/19/18 07:11 (GMT-06:00) To: R-package-devel <r-package-devel@r-project.org> Subject: [R-pkg-devel] Very large packages in Additional_repositories Dear list, I'm considering submitting a package to CRAN. The package would be a 'foyer' or API to a much larger package (>1GB tarball) containing geographical data that the 'foyer' package would use to perform tasks like geocoding. The foyer package would be usable, though quite limited, as a standalone package, and I can technically pass an R CMD check by placing the 1 GB package in Suggests and using an Additional_repository, but it takes a long time to retrieve and install from the Additional_repository. While I believe the downside of long install times would be acceptable for end-users (who would only need to install the package once a year), for CRAN it could occupy a large part of the check farm and have to occur much more frequently. The package once installed makes good use of lazy loading; in particular, it would be basically unusable if the CRAN package had to connect and download the necessary pieces from the large package each time it was required. I thought about breaking up the package into lots of little packages; however, even though the package is not strictly atomic, its indivisible elements would still be too large for CRAN. My questions are: would this 'foyer' package be acceptable to CRAN? and, if so, what can I do so that the foyer package doesn't eat up CRAN's computing resources (either on submission or once accepted) when checking Suggests: Best, Hugh. ______________________________________________ R-package-devel@r-project.org mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-package-devel [[alternative HTML version deleted]] ______________________________________________ R-package-devel@r-project.org mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-package-devel