proposed change of check message when VIgnetteBuilder package is not declared as a dependency

On 7/11/2014 4:49 PM, Dan Tenenbaum wrote:> Hi,
 >
 > I notice in R-3.1.1, if a package specifies a VignetteBuilder (such
 > as knitr) in its DESCRIPTION file, butdoes not also depend on the
 > specified package (in either Depends, Imports, or Suggests), that R
 > CMD check will say:
 >
 > * checking package dependencies ... ERROR
 > VignetteBuilder package not declared: ?knitr?
 >
 > I'm glad this situation is now caught by R CMD check, but I think
 > the message text should be changed, because the message is confusing.
 > Indeed, the VignetteBuilder package *was* declared, in the
 > VignetteBuilder line. The problem is that there's no dependency on it,
 > so no automated way to install it for building or checking.
 >
 > Can the message instead say something like:
 >
 > Package 'knitr' must be in Depends, Imports, or Suggests field of
 > DESCRIPTION file.
 >
 > ?

You shouldn't leave out the information that the package in question is 
being mentioned because it is declared in VignetteBuilder. I would 
suggest something more like:

VignetteBuilder package 'knitr' must be in Depends, Imports, or Suggests 
field of DESCRIPTION file.

Brian S. Diggs, PhD
Senior Research Associate, Department of Surgery
Oregon Health & Science University