Devtools 0.8

[Hadley Wickham]

The aim of `devtools` is to make your life as a package developer
easier by providing R functions that simplify many common tasks.
Devtools is opinionated about how to do package development, and
requires that you use `roxygen2` for documentation and `testthat` for
testing. Future version will relax these opinions - patches are
welcome! You can track (and contribute to) development of `devtools`
at https://github.com/hadley/devtools.

For discussion related to package development with devtools see the
[rdevtools](http://groups.google.com/group/rdevtools) mailing list.

devtools 0.8.0
--------------

NEW FEATURES

* `create` function makes it easier to create a package skeleton using
devtools standards.

* `install_github()` can now install from a pull request -- it installs
the branch referenced in the pull request.

* `install_github` now accepts `auth_user` and `password` arguments if you
want to install a package in a private github repo. You only need to specify
`auth_user` if it's not your package (i.e. it's not your `username`) (Fixes
#116)

* new `dev_help` function replaces `show_rd` and makes it easy to get help on
any topic in a development package (i.e. a package loaded with `load_all`)
(Fixes #110)

* `dev_example` runs the examples for one in-development package. (Fixes #108)

* `build_vignettes` now looks in modern location for vignettes (`vignettes/`)
and warn if vignettes found in old location (`inst/doc`). Building now
occurs in a temporary directory (to avoid polluting the package with
build artefacts) and only final pdf files are copied over.

* new `clean_vignettes` function to remove pdfs in `inst/doc` that were built
from vignettes in `vignettes/`

* `load_all` does a much much better job at simulating package loading (see
LOADING section). It also compiles and loads C/C++/Fortran code.

* `unload()` is now an exported function, which unloads a package, trying
harder than just `detach`. It now also unloads DLLs. (Winston Chang. Fixes
#119)

* `run_examples` now has parameters `show`, `test`, `run` to control which of
`\dontrun{}`, `\dontshow{}`, `\donttest{}` and `\testonly{}` are commented
out. The `strict` parameter has been removed since it is no longer necessary
because `load_all` can respect namespaces. (Fixes #118)

* `build()`, `check()`, `install()` etc now run R in `--vanilla` mode which
prevents it from reading any of your site or personal configuration files.
This should prevent inconsistencies between the environment in which the
package is run between your computer and other computers (e.g. the CRAN
server) (Fixes #145)

* All system R command now print the full command used to make it easier to
understand what's going on.

PACKAGE PATHS

* `as.package` no longer uses `~/.Rpackages`.

* `as.package` provides more informative error messages when path does not
exist, isn't a directory, or doesn't contain a `DESCRIPTION` file.

* New function `inst()` takes the name of a package and returns the installed
path of that package. (Winston Chang. Fixes #130). This makes it possible to
use `devtools` functions (e.g. `unload`) with regular installed packages,
not just in-development source packages.

* New function `devtest()` returns paths to an internal testing packages
in devtools.

LOADING

* Development packages are now loaded into a namespace environment,
<namespace:xxxx>, and then the objects namespace are copied to the
package environment, <package:xxxx>. This more accurately simulates
how packages are normally loaded. However, all of the objects (not
just the exported ones) are still copied to the package environment.
(Winston Chang. Fixes #3, #60, and #125)

* Packages listed in Imports and Depends are now loaded into an imports
environment, with name attribute "imports:xxxx", which is the parent
of the namespace environment. The imports environment is in turn a
child of the <namespace:base> environment, which is a child of the
global environment. This more accurately simulates how packages are
normally loaded. These packages previously were loaded and attached.
(Winston Chang. Fixes #85)

* The NAMESPACE file is now used for loading imports, instead of the
DESCRIPTION file. Previously, `load_all` loaded all objects from the
packages listed in DESCRIPTION. Now it loads packages (and, when
when 'importfrom' is used, specific objects from packages) listed in
NAMESPACE. This more closely simulates normal package loading. It
still checks version numbers of packages listed in DESCRIPTION.
(Winston Chang)

* `load_all` can now be used to properly reload devtools. It does this
by creating a copy of the devtools namespace environment, and calling
`load_all` from that environment. (Winston Chang)

* The `.onLoad` and `.onAttach` functions for a development package are
now both called when loading a package for the first time, or with
`reset=TRUE`, and the order more correctly simulates normal package
loading (create the namespace, call `.onLoad`, copy objects to the
package environment, and then call `.onAttach`). (Winston Chang)

* `load_all` will now throw a warning if a dependency package does not
satisfy the version requirement listed in DESCRIPTION. (Winston Chang.
Fixes #109)

* The package environment now has a 'path' attribute, similar to a
package loaded the normal way. (Winston Chang)

* `load_all` now has an option `export_all`. When set to TRUE, only the
objects listed as exports in NAMESPACE are exported. (Winston Chang)

* `load_all` now compiles C files in the /src directory. (Winston Chang)

* New functions `compile_dll()` and `clean_dll()`, which compile C/C++/
Fortan source code, and clean up the compiled objects, respectively.
(Winston Chang. Fixes #131)

BUG FIXES

* `load_code` now properly skips missing files. (Winston Chang)

* Add `--no-resave-data` to default build command.

* The subject line of the email created by `release` is now "CRAN submission
[package] [version]", per CRAN repository policy.

* `install_bitbucket` properly installs zip files of projects stored
in Mercurial repositories. (Winston Chang. Fixes #148)

* `build` now builds vignettes because `install` does not. (Fixes #155)

INTROSPECTION

* New function `loaded_packages()`, which returns the names of packages
that are loaded and attached.

* Packages loaded with `load_all` now store devtools metadata in their
namespace environment, in a variable called `.__DEVTOOLS__`. This can
be accessed with the `dev_meta` function. (Winston Chang. Fixes #128)

* `dev_mode` now stores the path it uses in option `dev_path`. That makes it
easy for other applications to detect when it is on and to act accordingly.

* New function `parse_ns_file()`, which parses a NAMESPACE file for a
package.

* New function `parenvs()`, which parents the parent environments
of an object. (Winston Chang)


--
RStudio / Rice University
http://had.co.nz/