[This is probably more appropriate for R-devel rather than R-help.] IMHO the criterion for requiring a package (say `X') is that, if some function(s) in your package can not perform its tasks correctly without something in `X', then you should list `X' as required. You can not assume the user will have `X' loaded (or even installed) if you do not list it as `required'.
Andy > From: GiusVa > > Dear friends, > > I am writing a package that I think may be of interest to > many people so I > am in the process to build-check-write-thedocumentation for it. > > I have some questions regarding the "rules" that a package > should abide in order to be consistent with the other > packages on CRAN. > I have read and reread the Writing R extension manual and googled the > mailing list and I have found answers to many questions, but some have > been left unanswered. Sorry if they may seem trivial, but I have > joined the R community only 4 months ago and I still I do not have a > feeling of what is the right course of action. > > Questions: > > 1) the package I am writing ( MYPKG throughout the rest of > the message) > makes use of many packages. Some of them are fundamental to MYPKG and > are pervasive, i.e. without them the package will not work and many > functions are used. For these class of packages I (think) know what to > do. > > The second class of package interests MYPKG only for specific > task. For example, I need the "coda" package if one wants to use a > specific function of MYPKG that produces a MCMC chain. What is the > best way to require the package? Inside the function that request it? > > The relation between the third class of packages and MYPKG is very > tricky. For example, from the MASS package MYPKG only uses "ginv" to > get the generalized inverse. "ginv" is an important function, i.e. it > is used in many functions. Do I have to require MASS? Or should I just > include only "ginv" in the package? > > Thank you for patience. > > Giuseppe > > ------------------------------------------------------------ > |Giuseppe Ragusa > |University of California, San Diego > |9500 Gilman Dr. 0508 > |La Jolla, CA 92093 > > ______________________________________________ > [email protected] mailing list > https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help > PLEASE do read the posting guide! > http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html > > > ______________________________________________ [email protected] mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help PLEASE do read the posting guide! http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
