[R] keeping github packages up to date

[Federico Calboli]

On 12 Oct 2018, at 17:32, Jeff Newmiller <jdnewmil using dcn.davis.ca.us> wrote:
> 
> Reinstall the updated versions however you originally did. The "obstacles" imposed by CRAN that cause package developers to forgo sharing there came about to confirm documentation, cross-platform compatibility and dependencies. With no referee enforcing such care in the environments you are pulling from, you cannot expect automated dependency management to work. You are riding a mustang in the Wild West... so have fun while it lasts... eventually bit-rot will break your library unless you freeze it (use packrat and keep old versions of R?).

I agree on all accounts — there is a thread here someplace where I expressed my displeasure at the fact people publish papers making a big deal of the fact they have github packages when it is obvious this is just a quick and dirty approach that creates as many issues (in terms of software management) that it might fix (in terms of whatever the code does). 

Unfortunately some developers only release on github, or do not submit a new version to CRAN with all the bugfixes they put on github.  An unintended consequence of devtools.    

Cheers

F



> 
> On October 12, 2018 8:00:11 AM PDT, Federico Calboli <federico.calboli using kuleuven.be> wrote:
>> Hi all,
>> 
>> more and more people (sadly) are putting stuff on github, with either
>> no CRAN upload or an package.  So I am stuck with using devtools and
>> install_github.
>> 
>> I know how to keep stuff from CRAN updated — how do I do the same for
>> github stuff?
>> 
>> Cheers
>> 
>> F
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> Federico Calboli
>> LBEG - Laboratory of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Genomics
>> Charles Deberiotstraat 32 box 2439
>> 3000 Leuven
>> +32 16 32 87 67
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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> 
> -- 
> Sent from my phone. Please excuse my brevity.

--
Federico Calboli
LBEG - Laboratory of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Genomics
Charles Deberiotstraat 32 box 2439
3000 Leuven
+32 16 32 87 67