The R-exts manual says about 'Suggests' field in package DESCRIPTION: "The optional `Suggests' field uses the same syntax as `Depends' and lists packages that are not necessarily needed." However, this seems to be a suggestion you cannot refuse. If you suggest packages: (a line from DESCRIPTION): Suggests: MASS, ellipse, rgl, mgcv, akima, lattice This is what happens: $ /tmp/R-alpha/bin/R CMD check vegan * checking for working latex ... OK * using log directory '/home/jarioksa/devel/R/vegan.Rcheck' * using R version 2.2.0, 2005-09-19 * checking for file 'vegan/DESCRIPTION' ... OK * this is package 'vegan' version '1.7-75' ... clip ... * checking package dependencies ... ERROR Packages required but not available: ellipse rgl akima In my cultural context suggesting a package means that it is not necessarily needed and the check should not fail, although some functionality would be unavailable without those packages. I want the package to pass the tests in a clean standard environment without forcing anybody to load any extra packages. Is there a possibility to be modest and shy in suggestions so that it would be up to the user to get those extra packages needed without requiring them in R CMD check? I stumbled on this with earlier versions of R, and then my solution was to suggest nothing. cheers, jari oksanen -- Jari Oksanen -- Dept Biology, Univ Oulu, 90014 Oulu, Finland Ph. +358 8 5531526, cell +358 40 5136529, fax +358 8 5531061 email jari.oksanen at oulu.fi, homepage http://cc.oulu.fi/~jarioksa/
I think this needs to fail because packages listed in 'Suggests:' may,
for
example, be needed in the examples. How can 'R CMD check' run the
examples and
verify that they are executable if those packages are not available? I suppose
you could put the examples in a \dontrun{}.
-roger
Jari Oksanen wrote:> The R-exts manual says about 'Suggests' field in package
DESCRIPTION:
>
> "The optional `Suggests' field uses the same syntax as
`Depends' and
> lists packages that are not necessarily needed."
>
> However, this seems to be a suggestion you cannot refuse. If you suggest
> packages:
>
> (a line from DESCRIPTION):
> Suggests: MASS, ellipse, rgl, mgcv, akima, lattice
>
> This is what happens:
>
> $ /tmp/R-alpha/bin/R CMD check vegan
> * checking for working latex ... OK
> * using log directory '/home/jarioksa/devel/R/vegan.Rcheck'
> * using R version 2.2.0, 2005-09-19
> * checking for file 'vegan/DESCRIPTION' ... OK
> * this is package 'vegan' version '1.7-75'
> ... clip ...
> * checking package dependencies ... ERROR
> Packages required but not available:
> ellipse rgl akima
>
> In my cultural context suggesting a package means that it is not
> necessarily needed and the check should not fail, although some
> functionality would be unavailable without those packages. I want the
> package to pass the tests in a clean standard environment without
> forcing anybody to load any extra packages. Is there a possibility to be
> modest and shy in suggestions so that it would be up to the user to get
> those extra packages needed without requiring them in R CMD check?
>
> I stumbled on this with earlier versions of R, and then my solution was
> to suggest nothing.
>
> cheers, jari oksanen
--
Roger D. Peng
http://www.biostat.jhsph.edu/~rpeng/