pb51
commented
5 years ago Hi all
This isn’t really correct - something must need respecifying. The whole aim of ds.make.o is to create new objects From pre-existing ones and the only time it does anything else is when you can define a new object solely on the basis of an arithmetic statement relying just on numbers. ds.make.o is one of the functions I use most commonly and so far I have found no fundamental problems that cannot be solved by respecifying the syntax of the first argument or breaking it down to several simpler calls.
Because the github messaging is a public domain I’ve just discussed this with Olly. When we identify problems during our own development work we should flag them up somewhere internal first so we can all help to solve it. Only if and when we find out there really is a problem with the function should we inform other users. In practice we’ve only ever needed to do this on a handful of times over the whole lifetime of the project.
The problem with implying there is a problem with a function when it is really a problem in the way the function is being called is that it could lead users to assume that a problem they encounter might also be a flaw in the function. Just like some native R functions some DataSHIELD functions demand substantive thinking before you can get them to work. If it appears likely that the function itself is at fault users may be encouraged to give up and not do that thinking and this will create a lot of work - I know this for a fact because given the increased robustness of our suite of functions, most problems I am now presented with can be solved by respecifying the syntax used to call functions rather than correcting bugs in the functions themselves.
So, in this case I’ve asked Demetris to look at the script calling ds.make.o to try to help patricia solve this particular problem. And Olly has suggested (and I agree) we should have an internal problems slot in Trello that we can all see. As I indicate above as soon as we do know there is a real problem in the code of a function we should tell all users probably both via the github and via the forum
Cheers paul
On Thu, 11 Jul 2019 at 17:36, Patricia Ryser-Welch notifications@github.com wrote:
It appears that this function cannot create a new object from an existing one. It only works from some data from the database.
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It appears that this function cannot create a new object from an existing one. It only works from some data from the database.