About this course: Writing good code for data science is only part of the job. In order to maximizing the usefulness and reusability of data science software, code must be organized and distributed in a manner that adheres to community-based standards and provides a good user experience. This course covers the primary means by which R software is organized and distributed to others. We cover R package development, writing good documentation and vignettes, writing robust software, cross-platform development, continuous integration tools, and distributing packages via CRAN and GitHub. Learners will produce R packages that satisfy the criteria for submission to CRAN.
Created by: Johns Hopkins University
Taught by: Roger D. Peng, PhD, Associate Professor, Biostatistics
Bloomberg School of Public Health
Taught by: Brooke Anderson, Assistant Professor, Environmental & Radiological Health Sciences
Colorado State University
| Basic Info | Course 3 of 5 in the Mastering Software Development in R Specialization |
| Level | Intermediate |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Getting Started with R Packages
1 video, 16 readings
- Video: Welcome to Building R Packages
- Reading: Before You Start
- Reading: Using Mac OS
- Reading: Using Windows
- Reading: Using Unix/Linux
- Reading: R packages
- Reading: Basic Structure of an R Package
- Reading: DESCRIPTION File
- Reading: NAMESPACE File
- Reading: Namespace Function Notation
- Reading: Loading and Attaching a Package Namespace
- Reading: The R Sub-directory
- Reading: The man Sub-directory
- Reading: Summary
- Reading: The devtools package
- Reading: Creating a Package
- Reading: Other Functions
Graded: R Package and devtools
WEEK 2
Documentation and Testing
14 readings
- Reading: Documentation
- Reading: Vignette's and README Files
- Reading: Knitr / Markdown
- Reading: Common knitr Options
- Reading: Help Files and roxygen2
- Reading: Common roxygen2 Tags
- Reading: Overview
- Reading: Data for Demos
- Reading: Internal Data
- Reading: Data Packages
- Reading: Summary
- Reading: Introduction
- Reading: The testthat Package
- Reading: Passing CRAN Checks
Graded: Documenting Code
WEEK 3
Licensing, Version Control, and Software Design
25 readings
- Reading: Overview
- Reading: The General Public License
- Reading: The MIT License
- Reading: The CC0 License
- Reading: Overview
- Reading: Paying it Forward
- Reading: Linus’s Law
- Reading: Hiring
- Reading: Summary
- Reading: Introduction
- Reading: git
- Reading: Initializing a git repository
- Reading: Committing
- Reading: Browsing History
- Reading: Linking local repo to GitHub repo
- Reading: Syncing RStudio and GitHub
- Reading: Issues
- Reading: Pull Request
- Reading: Merge Conflicts
- Reading: Introduction
- Reading: The Unix Philosophy
- Reading: Default Values
- Reading: Naming Things
- Reading: Playing Well With Others
- Reading: Summary
Graded: Testing, GitHub, and Open Source
WEEK 4
Continuous Integration and Cross Platform Development
13 readings
- Reading: Overview
- Reading: Web Services for Continuous Integration
- Reading: Using Travis
- Reading: Using AppVeyor
- Reading: Summary
- Reading: Introduction
- Reading: Handling Paths
- Reading: Saving Files & rappdirs
- Reading: rappdirs
- Reading: Options and Starting R
- Reading: Package Installation
- Reading: Environmental Attributes
- Reading: Summary
Graded: Building an R Package
FAQs
How It Works
Coursework
Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.
Help from Your Peers
Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.
Certificates
Earn official recognition for your work, and share your success with friends, colleagues, and employers.
Creators
Johns Hopkins University
The mission of The Johns Hopkins University is to educate its students and cultivate their capacity for life-long learning, to foster independent and original research, and to bring the benefits of discovery to the world.
Pricing
| Audit | Purchase Course | |
|---|---|---|
| Access to course materials | Available | Available |
| Access to graded materials | Not available | Available |
| Receive a final grade | Not available | Available |
| Earn a shareable Course Certificate | Not available | Available |
Ratings and Reviews
very useful, especially the final practical exam
Informative and gives lots of information
It's one of better course for building packages!!!
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JB
The difficulty of the c ourse will depend on your background. If you have software development experience plus git, the course details the steps of releasing an R package to the community. If you have never worked with git or released software, this is a good way to tie those skills to your R skills.