projectData

projectData attaches installed data packages (“collections”) in a session without reading their data, exposes objects through deferred bindings that are read on first use (with a message beforehand), resolves name conflicts through explicit choices (a primary collection, per-object preferences, optional suffix aliases), records provenance, and provides a loader interface for resources that need format-specific restoration.

Quick start

library(projectData)
data_attach(c("rnaseqData", "proteinData"))  # inventory + attach; no data read
counts_rna                                   # message, then opened on first use
data_catalog()                               # metadata only
data_get(c("counts_rna", "meta_rna"))        # explicit access, several at once

If two attached packages define the same name, resolve it with data_prefer(), data_primary() or a suffix, or use data_get(name, collection = ). data_query() shows what packages contain and which names would collide, without attaching or remembering anything. data_detach() removes collections and forgets them.

See vignette("projectData") and vignette("adapters"). Installation of data packages (including from tarballs) is separate from attaching them.

Where it fits

data(), lazy loading and pkg::object already work well for a single data package, and projectData complements them. It addresses coordination problems that arise when a project uses several independently distributed collections: overlapping object names, large or disk-backed resources that should stay unopened until used, formats that need their own restoration step, and the need to see which installed package version and library each object came from. Ordinary data packages work without changes; optional manifests and adapters cover special formats. It does not install or update data packages and does not replace CRAN, Bioconductor or Zenodo. If data() already meets your needs, you can keep using it.

Scope and limits

• Not a package manager, not an out-of-memory computation engine, and no guarantee of reproducibility: class compatibility, software versions, backing files and platform readers still matter.
• Detaching never deletes backing files, so objects you hold can keep reading them. Replacing or removing the installed package is a different event: disk-backed objects that reference installed files may stop working.
• conflicted and library(include.only = ) handle export conflicts and selection; projectData adds collection inventory, deferred access beyond lazy data, format restoration and provenance.
• ExperimentHub/remote retrieval is a possible future extension, not implemented.
• IDE completion or previews may force deferred bindings; see inst/ide-repro/.
• Authoring manifests against a package source tree needs a file system that can create symbolic links; installed packages and prepared directories do not.
• Monocle3/BPCells (CDS) support is provided by the separate projectData.monocle3 adapter package; the core has no dependency on either. The vignette adapters builds a small disk-backed adapter step by step.

License

MIT, copyright holder Brad Blaser. DESCRIPTION declares MIT + file LICENSE; LICENSE holds the year and copyright holder, and LICENSE.md the full text.

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