dependency on retiring spatial infrastructure packages

[rsbivand]

You will be aware, for example from: https://r-spatial.org/r/2022/04/12/evolution.html, https://r-spatial.org/r/2022/12/14/evolution2.html, https://r-spatial.org/r/2023/04/10/evolution3.html and https://rsbivand.github.io/csds_jan23/bivand_csds_ssg_230117.pdf and perhaps view https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlpjIqTPMCA&list=PLzREt6r1NenmWEidssmLm-VO_YmAh4pq9&index=1 that rgdal, rgeos and maptools will be retired this year, in October 2023.

SSN 1.1.17 imports 'maptools', 'rgdal', 'rgeos' using maptools::getinfo.shape rgdal::readOGR rgdal::writeOGR, but I see that HEAD now also imports sf. NAMESPACE has importFrom("rgdal", "readOGR", "writeOGR"), importFrom("rgeos","gTouches") and bulk import from maptools. maptools::getinfo.shape has no equivalent in sf, so one would have to read the data to check the type. The other functions should have equivalents in sf for use with sp classes via cercion, listed in https://github.com/r-spatial/evolution/blob/main/pkgapi_230305_refs.csv and other links from https://r-spatial.org/r/2023/04/10/evolution3.html. Please ask if this gets complex; fix best by June, latest October 2023.

[pet221]

Hi Roger, Thanks for getting in touch and for links to all the resources. We're in the process of a major package overhaul and are moving to an sf data structure, so all of these dependencies are being removed in SSN2. We're also developing an R package, SSNbler, to replace the custom ArcGIS toolset, which we won't be supporting anymore - so all of our tools will be open source. It's helpful to have a deadline :)

Thanks! Erin

On Sat, Apr 22, 2023 at 1:22 AM Roger Bivand @.***> wrote:

You will be aware, for example from: https://r-spatial.org/r/2022/04/12/evolution.html, https://r-spatial.org/r/2022/12/14/evolution2.html, https://r-spatial.org/r/2023/04/10/evolution3.html and https://rsbivand.github.io/csds_jan23/bivand_csds_ssg_230117.pdf and perhaps view https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlpjIqTPMCA&list=PLzREt6r1NenmWEidssmLm-VO_YmAh4pq9&index=1 that rgdal, rgeos and maptools will be retired this year, in October 2023.

SSN 1.1.17 imports 'maptools', 'rgdal', 'rgeos' using maptools::getinfo.shape rgdal::readOGR rgdal::writeOGR, but I see that HEAD now also imports sf. NAMESPACE has importFrom("rgdal", "readOGR", "writeOGR"), importFrom("rgeos","gTouches") and bulk import from maptools. maptools::getinfo.shape has no equivalent in sf, so one would have to read the data to check the type. The other functions should have equivalents in sf for use with sp classes via cercion, listed in https://github.com/r-spatial/evolution/blob/main/pkgapi_230305_refs.csv and other links from https://r-spatial.org/r/2023/04/10/evolution3.html. Please ask if this gets complex; fix best by June, latest October 2023.

— Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/jayverhoef/SSN/issues/3, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ABMASGM55K6NTRK37WQLEJ3XCKQ3HANCNFSM6AAAAAAXHAEP54 . You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread.Message ID: @.***>

[rsbivand]

@pet221 @jayverhoef Hope your revision is going well. Just a polite reminder that less than three months remain before the retiring packages are gone. Can I help with testing?

[pet221]

@rsbivand We're working on an updated SSN2 package with @michaeldumelle, which we're aiming to release by October. SSN will be retired shortly after that and we're not doing anymore updates to this repository. I appreciate your offer to help test SSN2 and we may take you up on that generous offer later, but I don't think we're there yet. I've also been in touch with @lucarraro and have discussed options. In addition to importing and calling SSN functions directly, OCNet includes modified versions of our createSSN - so they're waiting for us to finish those functions.

[rsbivand]

@pet221 @jayverhoef We plan to archive the retiring packages October 16; I hope you and @michaeldumelle are making good progress. Users should not be affected until they upgrade to R 4.4 for which binary builds of the archived packages would not be available.

[pet221]

@rsbivand Thanks for the update and also for the final deadline. We have a working, slimmed down version of SSN2 but it still needs to go through the US EPA internal review process. It will go up on CRAN once they give it the ok. Thanks!

[pet221]

@rsbivand - the timing will also be dependent on whether there is a US government shutdown next week.

[rsbivand]

@pet221 It looks as though the retiring packages will be archived Monday 16 October, probably European daytime. The CRAN checks will then show a failure of SSN (and 120+ other packages) to install (because they depend strongly on the by then archived packages). Since I've been in touch with all affected package maintainers, CRAN will move to archive failing packages directly, so 17-18 October.

I suggest that you download and store copies of the CRAN SSN Windows and macOS binaries in case any users find themselves caught without software before the release of SSN2.

[michaeldumelle]

Thanks for all your hard work and help @rsbivand ! Do you happen to know if the archiving of SSN also deletes the CRAN-mirror on GitHub (https://github.com/cran/SSN)?

We will download and store copies of the CRAN SSN binaries as a backup and will clone the current SSN CRAN-mirror on GitHub (if it will in fact be deleted by CRAN).

We are working hard on SSN2 and hope to send it off to CRAN in October, assuming no US government shutdown. @pet221 @jayverhoef

[rsbivand]

@michaeldumelle I asked, the read-only mirror remains: https://github.com/r-hub/rhub/issues/568#issuecomment-1737764070. This makes sense, as it then stays in synch with the final archived source package.

[michaeldumelle]

Thank you @rsbivand; this is very helpful!

[rsbivand]

As Gabor commented, each version ever published on CRAN remains in the read-only github structure.

Maybe also download local copies of Windows and macOS binary packages of the dependencies of SSN too for completeness.

[rsbivand]

@pet221 @michaeldumelle @jayverhoef Hope the EPA internal review process is going well. This is a one-week warning: R spatial infrastructure packages maptools, rgdal and rgeos will be archived by CRAN on Monday, October 16, 2023. Expect your package to be archived by CRAN October 17-18 as CRAN checks feed through and your package fails, if not updated by Monday, October 16, 2023; no grace period is anticipated.

[michaeldumelle]

Thanks @rsbivand ! We have saved binaries/source copies of recent SSN versions and their dependences, and they will remain on GitHub. We are very close with SSN2 and are hoping to send to CRAN by the end of the month. We will be keeping regular users of SSN updated with the coming changes.

[rsbivand]

@michaeldumelle OK, thanks. I'll list SSN as WIP, to be replaced shortly by SSN2.