R packages - May 2005 - new version of package:mvbutils

There is a new version of the 'mvbutils' package (v1.1.1) available on
CRAN.

For existing users, the main new features are:

(i) 'help' now works properly with with R2.0+ (!)
(ii) 'mvbutils' is now NAMESPACEd, so you can avoid naming conflicts
with other packages. (Many functions are no longer user-visible.
(iii) Lazy-loading of individual objects is now available. Among other
things, this speeds up the use of 'cd' immensely with workspaces that
contain large objects.
(iv) better-organized interactions between 'history' and 'cd'.

For new users, the main features of 'mvbutils' are:

  * Hierarchical organization of projects and sub-projects, allowing
switching within a single R session, searching and moving objects
through the hierarchy, objects in ancestor projects always visible from
child (sub)projects, etc.

  * Improved function editing facilities, interfacing with whichever
text editor you prefer. The R command line is not frozen while editing,
and you can have multiple edit windows open. There is also a complete
automatic backup system, with (as a side-effect) the ability to sort
objects by date.

  * "Lazy loading" for individual objects, allowing fast &
efficient
access to collections of biggish objects where only a few objects are
used at a time.

  * Support for flat-format (plain-text) documentation, stored along
with a function and editable at the same time, and viewable through
normal 'help'. Automatic conversion to Rd format is available if certain
rules are followed.

  * Support for nesting of 'source' calls, and for interspersing R code
and data in the same file.

  * Support for easy macro-like functions which act in their caller's
environment (see also RNews 1/3), and for "dynamically scoped"
functions.

  * Graphical display of which functions call which other functions.

  * numerous other lower-level utility functions and operators.

Please let me know of any comments and bug reports.

Mark Bravington (mark.bravington at csiro.au)
CSIRO Mathematical & Information Sciences

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