[R-pkg-devel] Inquiry

On Wed, 28 Sep 2022 05:19:06 -0400

<SNIP>

However, some users are package writers.  Once their package is on
CRAN, it can be really inconvenient for you to change the behaviour
of internal functions that they use, because CRAN will object if your 
change breaks their tests.  That makes it harder to write those
internal functions, because you have to get them "right" the first
time, or support the bad behaviour if someone relied on it.

Surely package writers should not write code that uses internal
functions, irrespective of whether these functions are exported.
I don't think that I ever have.  (That last could be wishful thinking I
guess.)

Not exporting makes it harder for package writers to know about the
*existence* of such functions, but it's not impossible (or even really
difficult) for a package-writer-type to find out about them.

The write can always then make a copy of the code in their own package,
which eliminates the problem with dependencies.

Anyway, does everybody 'get them "right" the first time'? :-)

cheers,

Rolf

Honorary Research Fellow
Department of Statistics
University of Auckland
Phone: +64-9-373-7599 ext. 88276