[R-pkg-devel] how to notify users of obsolete and new package
On 11.02.2025 10:40, Rolf Turner wrote:
On Mon, 10 Feb 2025 21:55:07 +0000 Bernd.Gruber <Bernd.Gruber at canberra.edu.au> wrote:
Hi, I have a quick question. I have an older package (dartR) that is now superseded by a series of new packages. Still we noticed that several users have not updated yet and moved to the new package. Hence the question: Is it okay to submit a "shell" package under the name of the old package that does nothing else than telling the user to install the new package (and a link/code how to do that)? There would only be one function which is updating some legacy data to a new format.
You can do that and then let that package be archived after a while.
Is that accepted or is there another way to let user know (e.g. via the CRAN package pages)?
Yes, we can archive a package and report on the web page of the package that it has been superseded. Some example: <https://cran.r-project.org/package=eodhd> Note that CRAN does not like the idea of retiring a package and replacing it by another one. This should only be a very exceptional action and CRAN will decide case based. Ideally a new version of the old package should do. Best, Uwe Ligges
Thanks and regards, Bernd
I am sympathetic to the points made by Kevin Coombes, who has also
replied to you. OTOH I am obsessive about redundancy and clutter. So
I dunno.
Some while back I put a package "hse" (standing for "hope springs
eternal" ??) up on CRAN. Then later I wrote a paper about the ideas
implemented in hse. A referee objected to the name, so I changed the
name to "dbd" ("discretised beta distribution"). But I left a skeleton
of hse on CRAN. It just consists of the .onAttach() function. If you
install and load hse you just get the message:
This package, "hse" is now deprecated. Users
should install and use its successor "dbd".
So far no-one has yelled at me .... But maybe no-one ever used hse.
cheers,
Rolf Turner