[R] Error executing R CMD check --as-cran caused by missing Maintainer field

[Stefano Costa]

Hello,
while checking a small package I wrote
(http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/tipom/) before submitting a new
version, I was blocked by an error in the "checking CRAN incoming feasibility"
section of R CMD check --as-cran, as pasted below:

steko at ganymede:~/code$ LC_ALL=C R CMD check --as-cran tipom
* using log directory '/home/steko/code/tipom.Rcheck'
* using R version 3.0.1 (2013-05-16)
* using platform: i486-pc-linux-gnu (32-bit)
* using session charset: ASCII
* checking for file 'tipom/DESCRIPTION' ... OK
* checking extension type ... Package
* this is package 'tipom' version '1.0.1'
* checking CRAN incoming feasibility ...Error in if (!all(m_m_1 == m_d_1)) { :
  missing value where TRUE/FALSE needed
Execution halted

The error occurs using R 3.0.1 on both Debian and Fedora (distribution
packages). I understand it is caused by some missing information in the
DESCRIPTION file. With some trial and error, following some clues found at
https://github.com/hadley/devtools/issues/209, I could figure out it was
missing the "Maintainer" field. However, in the "Writing R extensions" manual I
read that

> Fields ‘Author’ and ‘Maintainer’ can be auto-generated from ‘Authors at R’, and
may be omitted if the latter is provided

I am indeed using Authors at R so in the end I am slightly confused. What is the
correct way to deal with these fields? Thank you in advance

Stefano

--
Stefano Costa
http://www.iosa.it/ Open Archaeology