Too many R packages: CRAN is inundated with submissions
4 hours ago
- #R Programming
- #CRAN Packages
- #Software Documentation
- CRAN is the most accessible repository for statistical knowledge, with new package acceptance growing faster than ever.
- The author questions whether the R community truly benefits from this growth in new packages.
- Selecting 'Top 40' new packages has become more challenging due to increased volume, from about a day's work to a 'hamster-on-the-wheel' project.
- A sharp increase in new packages is attributed to the ease of packaging and deploying code, similar to trends in other software like apps.
- Many new R packages lack sufficient documentation (e.g., no README, vignettes, or URLs), raising doubts about their contribution to the community.
- The author invites feedback on this issue via GitHub to engage the community in discussion.