r-dev

name	r-dev
description	R development packages. Use for package development, testing, documentation, code style, and IDE setup.

R Development Skill

Sub-skills

Sub-skill	Description
r-dev-package	devtools, usethis, roxygen2
r-dev-testing	testthat, covr, mockery
r-dev-docs	pkgdown, vignettes, README
r-dev-oop	R6, S3, S4 classes

R package development and tooling.

Package Development

Package	Description
devtools ★	Package development tools
usethis ★	Workflow automation
roxygen2 ★	Documentation from comments
pkgdown	Package websites
testthat ★	Unit testing
covr	Test coverage

Code Quality

Package	Description
lintr ★	Static code analysis
styler	Code formatting
goodpractice	Package best practices

Documentation

Package	Description
roxygen2 ★	In-source documentation
sinew	Generate roxygen skeletons
staticdocs	Static HTML docs

OOP Systems

Package	Description
R6 ★	Encapsulated OOP
S7	Next-gen OOP (experimental)

Debugging & Profiling

Package	Description
pryr	Understand R internals
lineprof	Line profiling
profvis	Interactive profiling

Environment & Reproducibility

Package	Description
renv ★	Project environments
box	Modern module system
import	Import mechanism
installr	Install software (Windows)

Async & Promises

Package	Description
promises	Async programming
future	Parallel/distributed processing

Deployment

Package	Description
Rocker	Docker configurations
drat	R repositories on GitHub

IDEs & Editors

Tool	Description
RStudio ★	Full-featured IDE
VSCode + vscode-R	VS Code support
radian	Modern R console
IRkernel	Jupyter kernel
Nvim-R	Neovim plugin

Quick Examples

# Create new package
usethis::create_package("mypackage")

# Add dependencies
usethis::use_package("dplyr")
usethis::use_pipe()  # Add %>%

# Documentation
usethis::use_roxygen_md()
devtools::document()

# Testing
usethis::use_testthat()
usethis::use_test("myfunction")
devtools::test()

# Check package
devtools::check()

# Build and install
devtools::build()
devtools::install()

# roxygen2 documentation
#' Add two numbers
#'
#' @param x A number
#' @param y A number
#' @return The sum of x and y
#' @export
#' @examples
#' add(1, 2)
add <- function(x, y) {
  x + y
}

# testthat tests
test_that("add works", {
  expect_equal(add(1, 2), 3)
  expect_equal(add(-1, 1), 0)
  expect_error(add("a", 1))
})

# R6 class
library(R6)
Person <- R6Class("Person",
  public = list(
    name = NULL,
    initialize = function(name) {
      self$name <- name
    },
    greet = function() {
      cat("Hello, I'm", self$name, "\n")
    }
  )
)
p <- Person$new("Alice")
p$greet()

# renv workflow
renv::init()      # Initialize
renv::snapshot()  # Save state
renv::restore()   # Restore state

# Profiling
profvis::profvis({
  # Code to profile
  result <- slow_function(data)
})

Package Development Workflow

# 1. Create package
usethis::create_package("mypackage")

# 2. Set up Git
usethis::use_git()
usethis::use_github()

# 3. Add license
usethis::use_mit_license()

# 4. Set up testing
usethis::use_testthat()

# 5. Add CI
usethis::use_github_action_check_standard()

# 6. Write code in R/
# 7. Document with roxygen2
devtools::document()

# 8. Write tests in tests/testthat/
devtools::test()

# 9. Check package
devtools::check()

# 10. Build pkgdown site
usethis::use_pkgdown()
pkgdown::build_site()

Resources

• R Packages book: https://r-pkgs.org/
• devtools: https://devtools.r-lib.org/
• testthat: https://testthat.r-lib.org/
• roxygen2: https://roxygen2.r-lib.org/
• R6: https://r6.r-lib.org/