Packages and Libraries (was: Re: lme4 "package" etc
On Tue, 08 Feb 2005 22:19:46 -0000 (GMT) (Ted Harding) wrote:
On 08-Feb-05 Kurt Hornik wrote:
Afaic, one of the issues is that it seems common practice to refer to collections of code as "libraries" or "packages", and we're trying to use these rather general-purpose terms in a very precise meaning, and obviously not very successful, in particular because the use of"library" is highly non-standard. One idea might be to replace the"library" by something else like ... "a place where R knows where to find packages" ... hmm, now that's too long, so ...
The only issue I have with "library" vs "package" (or vice versa) is the following. I *know* that a collection of functions etc. (such as nlme) is properly called a "package". I could (and do) get ticked off if I refer to it as a "library". However, if I want to use it then I enter library(nlme) As a result, the little daemons who potter around re-wiring my mental circuits sometimes cross-connect these two. As a result, I can inadvertently refer to "the nlme library". An example is a recent mailing of mine to the list where I twice referred to a certain "library" (and was amiably rebuked by Martic Maechler) -- but then I saw that I had also twice referred to the same "package" in the same mail! Personally I don't mind whether it is called "package" or "library", though using the command library() to load a package does tend, as described, to get me treading on my own shoelaces. But, a propos, is there an R entity called a "library" (other than the command) as distinct from a "package"?
A *library* is a directory in which you can find R *packages* (just as
in real life you can find books in a library) and with
library("foo", lib.loc = "/path/to/bar")
you want to get the package (book) "foo" from the library "bar" located
at "/path/to/bar".
So the two are really distinct...in real life, you also wouldn't say
that you have been in the book where they had a lot of libraries on the
shelves, would you? ;-)
But as Kurt explained: this distinction between "library" and "package"
is specific to R and does not correspond to common practice for other
software systems.
Z
If so, then I can accept the necessity for disciplined distinction between them, since calling one sort of thing by the name of another sort of thing necessarily creates confusion. But if not, then I'm inclined to feel that a bit of loose talk is acceptable (since then a reference to a "library" would be understood as a reference to a "package", since what else would it be?) Just my thoughts ... Ted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <Ted.Harding@nessie.mcc.ac.uk> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 Date: 08-Feb-05 Time: 22:19:46 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------
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