Working with ‘renv’ package

What happens when we change the Rmd file and commit?

In Blog 5 you had the first exposure to Github Actions. We just checked frontmatter compliance (as we do for this round). You see that we have added a second action - here, we are converting the Rmarkdown document to a markdown file by running render_rmarkdown on Github. This action passes successfully for this document. We want to do something similar for blog #4.

Now start reading …

Read the vignette Introduction to renv for the renv R package by Kevin Ushey.

Then do:

1. Install the R package renv on your local machine.

2. In the project for blog 4, initialize the workflow used by the renv package.

3. Add all dependencies to the environment (implicitly by installing all the depepndencies or explicilty by listing dependencies in a DESCRIPTION file).

4. Add the renv folder to your blog 4 repository, and push the changes.

5. Is the github action working? Read any potential error messages in the workflow and try to fix things. Make sure to check stackoverflow for help, don’t forget our Discussion board!

Write a blog post addressing the following questions:

1. What is the idea of the renv package?

The “renv” package, in my opinion, makes it easier for us to handle our projects. Each project’s specific details and packages will be managed individually by it. Using the “init()” function, which will make a copy of the local project with all the packages, we must first initialize a workflow. Then, “hydrate()” and “dependency()” functions can find and install all additional requirements. We will have a project-local environment with a private R library once we have completed these tasks. Anytime we wish to leave, we can take snapshots of the project and store its current condition together with all of its packages. In other words, “renv” package is a robust way that makes our projects reproducible.

2. In 50 to 100 words describe your experience working with renv. What went well? What did not go so well?

After a few tries, I succeeded in completing the stages. Initially, because I didn’t utilize the hydrate function to install the dependencies, the GitHub action wasn’t working. As I returned to the manual, I discovered my error. The GitHub activity worked for me after running the hydrate function, and everything was in place. It appears that my project is now available on GitHub in a version that has all necessary dependencies and packages and can be restored by other users.

Submit this blog post to your blog-6 repo.