SoCal R Users Group (SoCal RUG)

About this talk and from our presenter, Malcolm Barrett:
R has a distinct quality: someone who sits down to their computer, downloads the latest version of R, and installs some packages from CRAN will largely have no issues. This is one of R’s greatest strengths, particularly for newcomers: you can get right to work. This is by design: CRAN provides packages in such a way that we receive certain guarantees that everything is going to (mostly) work together on a given day. Revisiting a project in R later, however, is often painful: all those things that worked beautifully together suddenly fail. Either you have to update all your code to match the changes that have been made in the packages you use, or you have to find a way to restore your R session to the state that it was in when you were working last.

R has a long history of community tools for managing package environments, such as packrat and renv. Yet, it’s still rarely an easy process. Exposure to the uv framework for managing Python environments—itself a harrowing history—showed me that there could be a better way. I set out to revisit R package environments and came out the other side with a new point of view.

In this talk, I’ll discuss why we face issues restoring R package environments, improving renv workflows, thinking through system dependencies, and exploring other tools like Posit Package manager, Docker, and rv.

For ONLINE attendees:
We will be broadcasting this presentation via Zoom. We will begin promptly at 7:00 pm PT. Please RSVP for online attendance to get the Zoom link under the Hybrid location info.

For IN-PERSON attendees, meeting location info:
We'll be meeting at the Keck Center @ Chapman University room N107/N109. The space has a 40-person limit - If you RSVP but are unable to attend, please update your RSVP promptly to accommodate others interested in attending. Food and beverages will be catered by SoCal RUG for this event and served at 6:30 pm PT. The main presentation will begin at 7:00 pm PT.

Parking:
The best parking option will be the Anderson Parking Structure conveniently next to the Chapman's Keck Center. From the entrance of the Anderson Parking Structure, navigate to the elevator on the far side of the parking structure. Take the elevator to the 1st floor, and you'll find yourself in an outdoor atrium. As you’re exiting the elevator, turn left through the glass doors into Swenson Hall. Continue down the hallway past the MakerSpace and the Ideation Zone (rooms N107/109) will be on your left. While street parking is an option, it may require a valid Chapman parking pass depending on the street you're on - Please pay attention to street signage and see everyone tonight!

Legal Disclaimer:
The advice and/or information provided at this event is not endorsed by nor should it be construed as educational/legal advice from Chapman University.