From ggrothendieck at gmail.com  Mon Jun  9 17:18:28 2008
From: ggrothendieck at gmail.com (Gabor Grothendieck)
Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2008 11:18:28 -0400
Subject: [Rd] Posting Guide - help.request() function?
In-Reply-To: <484D3F9D.7010404@warwick.ac.uk>
References: <971536df0806061030i75474172xff100ece76a23eec@mail.gmail.com>
	<971536df0806070638w48afb954y77278659edd37802@mail.gmail.com>
	<971536df0806071024x688e1bcfvac6a1c8a43182170@mail.gmail.com>
	<484D3F9D.7010404@warwick.ac.uk>
Message-ID: <971536df0806090818l7acc330cy51746b3f815b9a7a@mail.gmail.com>

That's an excellent idea.

One other item that could be checkable would
be if the user has the most recent versions of the packages involved
in the query.    Perhaps it could display the unupdated packages
and ask the user if any of those are involved in the query.

Probably needs to give fair warning that it is sending
off an email so people don't wind up sending out emails when they
are really just trying out the system.  Probably "none" should be the
default for email so that its not regarded as obnoxious.

Might be nice if it used local versions of documents if they exist
locally.  On Windows they do.

Check out ?getRversion

On Mon, Jun 9, 2008 at 10:35 AM, Dr Heather Turner
<Heather.Turner at warwick.ac.uk> wrote:
> Whilst it is a good idea to improve the posting guide, it seems to me that
> it would be useful to have a function along the lines of bug.report(), to
> help a potential questioner make sure they have done their homework and have
> the relevant information to put into a post to R-help.
>
> Even those of us who know what ought to go into a post can sometimes forget
> to check something obvious - I recently got caught out by not checking an
> error was reproducible in the patched version for example.
>
> So I have written a help.request() function (see below), which
> - prompts the user to check the relevant resources, stopping and opening the
> relevant url where necessary
> - checks their R version is up-to-date (in a rather messy way - please
> suggest improvements!)
> - prompts them to prepare appropriate example code and test it in a fresh R
> session
> - prompts them to give a meaningful subject line
> - automatically adds system info to the post (as in bug.report)
> - sends the message for them (ensuring a fresh thread is started)
>
> Is this an idea worth taking further? I would be happy to make improvements
> as suggested and write a help file if so.
>
> Heather
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
>
> help.request <- function (subject = "",
>                          ccaddress = Sys.getenv("USER"),
>                          method = getOption("mailer"),
>                          address = "r-help at R-project.org",
>                          file = "R.help.request")
> {
>    no <- function(answer) answer == "n"
>    yes <- function(answer) answer == "y"
>    go <- function(url) {
>        cat("Please do this first - the site has been loaded in your web
> browser\n")
>        browseURL(url)
>    }
>    cat("Checklist:\n")
>    post <- readline("Have you read the posting guide? (y/n) ")
>    if (no(post)) return(go("http://www.r-project.org/posting-guide.html"))
>    FAQ <- readline("Have you checked the FAQ? (y/n) ")
>    if (no(FAQ)) return(go("http://cran.r-project.org/faqs.html"))
>    intro <- readline("Have you checked An Introduction to R? (y/n) ")
>    if (no(intro))
> return(go("http://cran.r-project.org/doc/manuals/R-intro.html"))
>    NEWS <- readline("Have you checked the NEWS of the latest development
> release? (y/n) ")
>    if (no(NEWS)) return(go("https://svn.r-project.org/R/trunk/NEWS"))
>    rsitesearch <- readline("Have you looked on RSiteSearch? (y/n) ")
>    if (no(rsitesearch)) {
>        cat("Please do this first - the site has been loaded in your web
> browser\n")
>        return(RSiteSearch(subject))
>    }
>    inf <- sessionInfo()
>    if ("otherPkgs" %in% names(inf)){
>        other <- readline("You have packages other than the base packages
> loaded.",
>                          "\nIf your query relates to one of these, have you
> ",
>                          "checked any corresponding books/manuals \nand ",
>                          "considered contacting the package maintainer?
> (y/n/NA) ")
>        if(no(other)) return("Please do this first.")
>    }
>
>    man <- url("http://cran.r-project.org/manuals.html")
>    ver <- scan(man, what = character(0), sep = "\n", skip = 13, nlines = 1,
> quiet = TRUE)
>    major <- as.numeric(substr(ver, start = 18, stop = 18))
>    minor <- as.numeric(substr(ver, start = 20, stop = 22))
>    if (major < as.numeric(R.Version()$major) ||
>        minor < as.numeric(R.Version()$major)) {
>        update <- readline("Your R version is out-of-date, would you like to
> update now? (y/n) ")
>        if (yes(update)) {
>            return(go(getOption("repos")))
>        }
>    }
>    ## To get long prompt!
>    cat("Have you written example code that is\n",
>        "- minimal\n - reproducible\n - self-contained\n - commented",
>        "\nusing data that is either\n",
>        "- constructed by the code\n - loaded by data()\n",
>        "- reproduced using dump(\"mydata\", file = \"\")\n")
>    code <- readline(paste("have you checked this code in a fresh R session",
>                           "\n(invoking R with the --vanilla option if
> possible)",
>                           "\nand is this code copied to the clipboard? (y/n)
> "))
>    if (no(code))
>        return(cat("\nIf your query is not directly related to code",
>               "(e.g. a general query \nabout R's capabilities),",
>               "email R-help at r-project.org directly. ",
>               "\nOtherwise prepare some example code first.\n"))
>    change <- readline(paste("Would you like to change your subject line:\n",
>                             subject, "\nto something more meaningful? (y/n)
> "))
>    if (yes(change))
>        subject <- readline("Enter subject: \n")
>
>    methods <- c("mailx", "gnudoit", "none", "ess")
>    method <- if (is.null(method))
>        "none"
>    else methods[pmatch(method, methods)]
>    body <- paste("\\n<<Write your query here, using your example code to
> illustrate>>",
>                  "\\n<<End with your name and affiliation>>\\n\\n\\n\\n",
>                  "--please do not edit the information below--\\n\\n",
>                  "Version:\\n ", paste(names(R.version), R.version, sep = "
> = ",
>                                        collapse = "\\n "), if
> (nzchar(Sys.getenv("R_GUI_APP_VERSION")))
>                  paste("\\n\\nGUI:\\n R-GUI ",
> Sys.getenv("R_GUI_APP_VERSION"),
>                        " (", Sys.getenv("R_GUI_APP_REVISION"), ")",
>                        sep = "")
>                                        else "", "\\n\\n", "Locale:\\n",
> Sys.getlocale(), "\\n\\n",
>                  "Search Path:\\n ", paste(search(), collapse = ", "),
>                  "\\n", sep = "", collapse = "")
>    if (method == "gnudoit") {
>        cmd <- paste("gnudoit -q '", "(mail nil \"", address,
>                     "\")", "(insert \"", body, "\")", "(search-backward
> \"Subject:\")",
>                     "(end-of-line)'", sep = "")
>        system(cmd)
>    }
>    else if (method == "none") {
>        disclaimer <- paste("# Your mailer is set to \"none\" (default on
> Windows),\n",
>            "# hence we cannot send the help request directly from R.\n",
>            "# Please copy the help request (after finishing it) to\n",
>            "# your favorite email program and send it to\n#\n",
>            "#       ", address, "\n#\n",
> "######################################################\n",
>            "\n\n", sep = "")
>        cat(disclaimer, file = file)
>        body <- gsub("\\\\n", "\n", body)
>        cat(body, file = file, append = TRUE)
>        cat("Please edit the help request.\n")
>        system(paste(getOption("editor"), file))
>        cat("The unsent help request can be found in file", file,
>            "\n")
>    }
>    else if (method == "mailx") {
>        if (missing(subject))
>            stop("'subject' missing")
>        body <- gsub("\\\\n", "\n", body)
>        cat(body, file = file, append = FALSE)
>        cat("Please edit the help request.\n")
>        system(paste(getOption("editor"), file))
>        if (is.character(ccaddress) && nzchar(ccaddress)) {
>            cmdargs <- paste("-s '", subject, "' -c", ccaddress,
>                address, "<", file, "2>/dev/null")
>        }
>        else cmdargs <- paste("-s '", subject, "'", address,
>            "<", file, "2>/dev/null")
>        status <- 1
>        cat("Submit the help request? ")
>        answer <- readline()
>        answer <- grep("y", answer, ignore.case = TRUE)
>        if (length(answer) > 0) {
>            cat("Sending email ...\n")
>            status <- system(paste("mailx", cmdargs))
>            if (status > 0)
>                status <- system(paste("Mail", cmdargs))
>            if (status > 0)
>                status <- system(paste("/usr/ucb/mail", cmdargs))
>            if (status == 0)
>                unlink(file)
>            else {
>                cat("Sending email failed!\n")
>                cat("The unsent help request can be found in file",
>                  file, "\n")
>            }
>        }
>        else cat("The unsent help request can be found in file",
>            file, "\n")
>    }
>    else if (method == "ess") {
>        body <- gsub("\\\\n", "\n", body)
>        cat(body)
>    }
> }
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Gabor Grothendieck wrote:
>>
>> Here is another update.  I have added the following:
>>
>> - info about using a fresh R session.  (In that case ls() output is less
>>  essential; however, the developers of sessionInfo() might consider
>>  adding that as a default or as an option.)
>>
>> - questioner should consider use of functions.
>>
>> - for data use dump(x, file = "") to reproducibly display data or use
>>  builtin datasets listed by data()
>>
>> - minimal versions of slow code should be presented in cases where
>>  questioner is looking for faster code.
>>
>> - we still need to add links to illustrative sample questions in r-help
>>
>> The following were not added for the reason cited:
>>
>> - guide is not just for questioners.  Important to distinguish roles
>>  of questioner, responder and reader.
>>
>> - what is to be provided ought to be given a name to make it easier
>>  to refer to.  An unlabelled set of points is too vague.  Test
>>  framework seems appropriately descriptive.  By giving it a name
>>  one can request that a questioner "provide a test framework as
>>  defined in the posting guide summary".
>>
>> - self contained is not implied by reproducible.  Reproducible
>>  only means that info is available somewhere -- not that its all
>>  available right in the questioner's post and all in a manner that
>>  is readily accessible.
>>
>> - focus should be on making data minimal.  Don't like attachments
>>  since responder must save them and read them in.  It encourages
>>  use of large rather than minimal data sets.
>>
>> Summary
>>
>> Surprisingly, the main problem for responders is not to answer the
>> question but to quickly figure out what the question is, reproduce it
>> in their own R session and test their answer.
>>
>> Test Framework.  To faciliate this provide a test framework of:
>>
>>  (1) minimal reproducible self-contained commented code and data
>>      that has been run in a fresh R session.  That means code and
>>      data have been cut down as far as possible to the essentials
>>      needed to illustrate the problem and were run are just after
>>          starting up R.  Also it means that its possible for responders
>>      to just copy the code and data section from the questioner's
>>      post to the clipboard and paste it into their session to see
>>      the same output without having to enter even one R command.
>>      In some cases there may be an advantage to present the code as
>>      a function and in the case of needing a speedup be sure to post
>>      a minimal version of the slow code.  Use builtin data sets such
>>      as those listed by data() to illustrate problem or reduce your
>>      data to a minimum and present it reproducibly by using:
>>         dump("mydata", file = "")
>>
>>  (2) comments/explanation of what the code is intended to produce
>>          -- Don't assume its obvious!
>>
>>  (3) versions of all software used, e.g. sessionInfo(),
>>          or R.version.string; packageDescription("zoo")$Version
>>
>> Without self-contained reproducible code the responder must not only
>> understand the question but must also create a test framework and that
>> typically takes more time than answering the question!  Its not fair
>> to ask the responder to provide all that on top of answering the
>> question.  Do NOT assume the problem is so simple that it is not
>> necessary.
>>
>> Effort. The effort taken to reduce the problem to its essentials and
>> produce a test framework often solves the problem avoiding the need
>> for a post in the first place.  It at the least shows that the
>> questioner tried to solve it themself.
>>
>> Subscribers.  The questioner should ensure that the thread is complete
>> and that it has an appropriate Subject.  The purpose of the post is
>> not only to help the questioner but also the other list subscribers
>> and those later searching the archives.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Jun 7, 2008 at 9:38 AM, Gabor Grothendieck
>> <ggrothendieck at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Here is a second version of the summary.  Its been rearranged to
>>> place most important info at top.  Also shortened it a bit.
>>>
>>> It still needs links to example posts, as suggested.  Anyone?
>>>
>>> Summary
>>>
>>> Surprisingly, the main problem for responders is not to answer the
>>> posted questions but to quickly figure out what the question is,
>>> reproduce
>>> it in their own R session and test their answer.
>>>
>>> Test Framework.  To faciliate that provide a test framework of:
>>>
>>>  (1) reproducible self-contained minimal code and data.  That means
>>>     responders can copy it from the questioner's post and paste it
>>>     into their session to see the same output without having to
>>>     enter even one R command.
>>>     NB. dput(mydata) produces mydata in reproducible form.
>>>  (2) comments/explanations of what the code is intended to produce and
>>>  (3) versions of all software used, e.g. sessionInfo().
>>>
>>> Without self-contained reproducible code the responder must not only
>>> understand the question but must also create a test framework and that
>>> typically takes more time than answering the question!  Its not fair
>>> to ask the responder to provide all that on top of answering the
>>> question.  Do NOT assume the problem is so simple that it is not
>>> necessary.
>>>
>>> Effort. The effort taken to reduce the problem to its essentials and
>>> produce a test framework often solves the problem avoiding the need
>>> for a post in the first place.  It at the least shows that the
>>> questioner tried to solve it themself.
>>>
>>> Subscribers.  The questioner should ensure that the thread is complete
>>> and that it has an appropriate Subject.  The purpose of the post is
>>> not only to help the questioner but also the other list subscribers
>>> and those later searching the archives.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Jun 6, 2008 at 1:30 PM, Gabor Grothendieck
>>> <ggrothendieck at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> People read the posting guide yet they are still unable to create an
>>>> acceptable
>>>> post. e.g.
>>>> https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-help/2008-June/164092.html
>>>>
>>>> I think the problem is that the guide is not clear or concise enough.
>>>> I suggest we add a summary at the beginning which gets to the heart
>>>> of what a poster is expected to provide:
>>>>
>>>> Summary
>>>>
>>>> To maximize your change of getting a response when posting provide (1)
>>>> commented,
>>>> (2) minimal, (3) self-contained and (4) reproducible code.  (This one
>>>> line summary
>>>> also appears at the end of each message to r-help.)
>>>>
>>>> "Self-contained" and "reproducible" mean that a responder can copy the
>>>> questioner's code to
>>>> the clipboard, paste it into their R session and see the same problem
>>>> you as the questioner
>>>> see.  Note that dput(mydata) will display mydata in a reproducible way.
>>>> Self-contained and reproducible are needed because:
>>>> (1) Self-Effort. It shows that the questioner tried to solve the
>>>> problem by themself first.
>>>> (2) Test framework. Often the responder needs to play with the code a
>>>> bit in order to respond
>>>> or at least to give the best answer.  They can't do that without a
>>>> test framework that includes
>>>> the data and the code to run it and its not fair to ask them to not
>>>> only answer the question but
>>>> also to come up with test data and to complete incomplete code.
>>>> (3) Archives. Questions and answers go into the archives so they are
>>>> not only for the benefit of
>>>> of the questioner but also for the benefit of all future searchers of
>>>> the archive.  That means
>>>> that its not finished if you have solved the problem for yourself.
>>>> You still need to ensure that
>>>> the thread has a complete solution. (For that reason its also
>>>> important to give a meaningful
>>>> subject to each post.)
>>>>
>>>> "Commented" and "minimal" also reduce the time it takes to understand
>>>> the problem.
>>>> Don't just dump your code as is into the message since you are just
>>>> wasting your own
>>>> time. Its not likely anyone will answer a message if the questioner
>>>> has not taken the
>>>> time to reduce it to its essential elements.  Surprisingly, quite
>>>> often understanding what
>>>> the problem is takes the responder most of the time -- not solving the
>>>> problem. Once the
>>>> question is actually understood its often quite fast to answer.  Thus
>>>> in addition to posting
>>>> it in a minimal form, comment on it sufficiently so that the responder
>>>> knows what the code
>>>> does and is intended to produce.  It may be obvious to the questioner
>>>> who is embroiled in
>>>> the problem but that does not mean its obvious to others.
>>>>
>>>> Introduction
>>>>
>>>> .... rest of posting guide ...
>>>>
>>
>> ______________________________________________
>> R-devel at r-project.org mailing list
>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-devel
>
> --
> Dr H Turner
> Research Fellow
> Dept. of Statistics
> The University of Warwick
> Coventry
> CV4 7AL
>
> Tel: 024 76575870
> Fax: 024 76524532
> Url: www.warwick.ac.uk/go/heatherturner
>



[Rd] Posting Guide - help.request() function?
Gabor Grothendieck