Hi!

[ramiromagno]

Hi Henrik,

In 2020 I started a repository with the same spirit as yours named c3po: https://github.com/ramiromagno/c3po. Online doc here: https://rmagno.eu/c3po/index.html.

Is this something you still want to pursue? I'd like to learn to write packages with C code and working out R's C API is part of that process. I'd be happy to join efforts if you're interested. Now that roxygen2 supports markdown it could be even more fun.

[HenrikBengtsson]

I'm sorry, I thought I replied to this, but I cannot see my reply here. Maybe I only reply in my head to you? Anyway, I think your c3po package is really nice, and you've documented much more than I've done in this proof-of-concept package.

I'd be happy to refer to your package/project from this one, especially, if you think you'll keep working on it. Do you have a sense how much is missing from yours? It would be awesome, if it could end up on CRAN (possibly with an easier to remember package name).

If there's anything in this package that is useful for yours, I'm happy to contribute it under your MIT license.

[ramiromagno]

Hi Henrik :

I'm sorry, I thought I replied to this, but I cannot see my reply here. Maybe I only reply in my head to you? Anyway, I think your c3po package is really nice, and you've documented much more than I've done in this proof-of-concept package.

Thanks! :)

I'd be happy to refer to your package/project from this one, especially, if you think you'll keep working on it. Do you have a sense how much is missing from yours? It would be awesome, if it could end up on CRAN (possibly with an easier to remember package name).

I started it as a concept package too, to see how the C API could be documented. There are only a few functions documented, so there's 99.99% missing. :) Honestly, I don't have experience with the R's C API but it is something I'd enjoy learning. I see that you have many popular and important packages in the R ecosystem that do use C behind the scenes.

So I would be happy to resume working on it and change the package name to something more intuitive. Given your terrific experience with the C API perhaps you could share some ideas on what elements should the documentation contain. To be more specific, let me ask a few questions:

• Do you find this annotation of C entities using badges useful? Are there other tags you would find appropriate?
• What sections do you find absolutely essential to have in the doc pages?
• How much information could be auto-magically pulled from R's source, e.g. function declarations and definition?
• What would be the most practical way of providing usage examples? What kind of R code pattern would you use? I was using inline::cfunction() but it's a bit clunky.
• Do you have a bird's-eye view of the API as whole? If so, do you have recommendations on how you'd split the API into major categories? And perhaps sub-categories?
• Would it be useful to provide vignettes revolving around common C code patterns?
• I see that in this package you have actually exported R functions with the same name as the C functions mimicking their interface... I have gone with documenting only NULL so there are not really new R objects being exported. Initially I had planned to make {c3po} a web-only documentation package... I thought that if I went through with this the package it would become too big to become an accepted CRAN package anyway... What's your take on this?