R devel - Jun 2007 - package check note: no visible global function definition (in functions using Tcl/Tk)

Hello,

when testing packages under R version 2.6.0 Under development 
(unstable), in order to discover future compatibility issues, I recently 
get numerous "possible problem notes" for different (own and other 
contributed) packages containing Tcl/Tk code,  e.g.:


   * checking R code for possible problems ... NOTE
   sEdit : editVec : build: no visible global function
   definition for 'tclvalue'
   sEdit : editVec : reset: no visible global function
   definition for 'tclvalue<-'
   sEdit : editVec: no visible global function
   definition for 'tktoplevel'


My question:

- Is this an indication of a serious problem?
- How can one avoid (or if not possible suppress) these messages?

Thanks in advance

Thomas P.

OS: WinXP Prof., German
R 2.6.0, svn-rev. 41910, 2007-06-11



-- 
Thomas Petzoldt
Technische Universitaet Dresden
Institut fuer Hydrobiologie        thomas.petzoldt at tu-dresden.de
01062 Dresden                      http://tu-dresden.de/hydrobiologie/
GERMANY

It seems that is happens if package tcltk is missing from the Depends: 
list in the DESCRIPTION file.  I just tested with Amelia and homals and 
that solved the various warnings in both cases.

This is not new in pre-2.6.0: you will get the same warnings in 2.5.0 if 
you turn codestools-checking on -- see `Writing R Extensions'.  Only the 
defaults have been changed.


On Mon, 11 Jun 2007, Thomas Petzoldt wrote:
> Hello,
>
> when testing packages under R version 2.6.0 Under development
> (unstable), in order to discover future compatibility issues, I recently
> get numerous "possible problem notes" for different (own and
other
> contributed) packages containing Tcl/Tk code,  e.g.:
>
>
>   * checking R code for possible problems ... NOTE
>   sEdit : editVec : build: no visible global function
>   definition for 'tclvalue'
>   sEdit : editVec : reset: no visible global function
>   definition for 'tclvalue<-'
>   sEdit : editVec: no visible global function
>   definition for 'tktoplevel'
>
>
> My question:
>
> - Is this an indication of a serious problem?
> - How can one avoid (or if not possible suppress) these messages?
>
> Thanks in advance
>
> Thomas P.
>
> OS: WinXP Prof., German
> R 2.6.0, svn-rev. 41910, 2007-06-11
>
>
>
>
-- 
Brian D. Ripley,                  ripley at 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