R devel - Jul 2012 - Using .onUnload to unload DLLs

I've noticed that many of the "base" R packages have an
.onUnload()
function which automatically unloads compiled shared libraries
with library.dynam.unload(). For example:
> stats:::.onUnload
function (libpath)
library.dynam.unload("stats", libpath)
<bytecode: 0x1033b9c30>
<environment: namespace:stats>


I've noticed that many other packages don't do this. Is it considered
good
practice to do this in packages that have compiled code?

-Winston

	[[alternative HTML version deleted]]

On 24/07/2012 07:11, Winston Chang wrote:
> I've noticed that many of the "base" R packages have an
.onUnload()
> function which automatically unloads compiled shared libraries
> with library.dynam.unload(). For example:
>
>> stats:::.onUnload
> function (libpath)
> library.dynam.unload("stats", libpath)
> <bytecode: 0x1033b9c30>
> <environment: namespace:stats>
>
>
> I've noticed that many other packages don't do this. Is it
considered good
> practice to do this in packages that have compiled code?
Yes, but do not all packages have well-enough written DSOs to do this. 
(Tcl/Tk does not, so we no longer attempt to upload tcltk.dll.)
>
> -Winston
>
> 	[[alternative HTML version deleted]]
which the posting guide expressly asked you not to do.


-- 
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