Speaker: Uwe Ligges

Authors: Uwe Ligges, Kurt Hornik, Duncan Murdoch, Brian Ripley, Stefan
Theussl

Title: Prospects and Challenges for CRAN - with a glance on 64-bit
Windows binaries

Abstract: R, a software package for statistical computing and graphics,
has evolved into the lingua franca of (computational) statistics. One of
the cornerstones of R's success is the decentralized and modularized way
of creating software using a multi-tiered development model. The R
Development Core Team provides the `base system', which delivers basic
statistical functionality, and many other developers contribute code in
the form of extensions in a standardized format via so-called packages.
In order to be accessible by a broader audience, packages are made
available via standardized source code repositories such as CRAN. To
support such a loosely coupled development model, repositories should be
able to verify that the provided packages meet certain formal quality
criteria and `work': both relative to the development of the base R
system as well as with other packages (interoperability). However,
established quality assurance systems and collaborative infrastructures
typically face several challenges, some of them discussed in this talk.

In addition, we will take a glance on 64-bit Windows binaries. 64-bit
Windows binaries for both R and packages are supported since R version
2.11.0 and as such available on CRAN and other package repositories.
This 64-bit binary system for Windows will be described as well as
current plans for the next R release of version 2.12.0 later this year.