[R-pkg-devel] How to refer to COPYRIGHTS and AUTHORS extra files in DESCRIPTION

HI,

here is an example from a package that was accepted relatively recently:
https://github.com/r-lib/presser/blob/master/DESCRIPTION#L8-L11

Gabor

On Tue, Jul 7, 2020 at 6:30 PM git demont <git.demont at gmail.com> wrote:

Hi all,

Sorry for asking again, but I got absolutely no advice on how to
correctly refer to extra copyrights and authors files in package
DESCRIPTION.
I know this can be considered as impolite and I don't want to do so.
So, I waited one week until sending the present message and I promise I
will not send another to ask for the same thing after this one.

Best,
Yohann




On Mon, Jun 29, 2020 at 4:04 PM git demont <git.demont at gmail.com> wrote:

Hi all,

I am developing a package called 'IFC'.
https://github.com/gitdemont/IFC/
<https://github.com/gitdemont/IFC/tree/v0.0.7>

Last submission (v0.0.7) was almost the final one to get it CRAN
https://github.com/gitdemont/IFC/tree/v0.0.7
It was manually checked and it should be accepted if I removed a

dontrun

(that I unfortunately forgot).

For the next submission ( I hope it will be the good one ), in

addition to

fixing the dontrun, I would like to include a small modification that

was

not asked. I would like to avoid another round of submission/review by
introducing an issue that was not here. In DESCRIPTION of 'IFC', I am
inviting users to refer to files for copyrights and authorship. "See

file

inst/COPYRIGHTS and file inst/AUTHORS for a list of copyright holders

and

authors"

However, I am not sure whether I should say 'inst/COPYRIGHTS' and
'inst/AUTHORS' because these files are in the 'inst/' directory of the
built tar.gz, or if I should only refer to 'COPYRIGHTS' and 'AUTHORS'
(without inst/) because once installed these files will be at the root

of

IFC library directory.
The same question olds for "Copyright: file inst/COPYRIGHTS".

In CRAN policies, one can read:
"Where copyrights are held by an entity other than the package authors,
this should preferably be indicated via ?cph? roles in the ?Authors at R?
field, or using a ?Copyright? field (if necessary referring to an
inst/COPYRIGHTS file)."
In 'RcppMsgPack' for instance we have:
- in the description: "See the files 'COPYRIGHTS' and 'AUTHORS' for a

full

list of copyright holders and contributors to 'msgpack-c'."
- in the copyrights: "inst/COPYRIGHTS".

Best,
Yohann

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