My package uses the MIT license, so would that not meet the compatibility requirements?
I will attempt to reach out to the package author - thanks for your help! On Wed, Jun 2, 2021 at 10:31 AM Ben Bolker <bbol...@gmail.com> wrote: > That all sounds exactly right. > GPL >= 2 allows you to use the material without asking permission as > long as your package is compatibly licensed (e.g. also GPL). > Under normal circumstances it would be polite to ask permission, but > if the reason for doing this is that the maintainer is unreachable in > the first place ... > > If you want to try a little harder, it seems quite possible that you > can reach the matrixcalc maintainer at the (personal) e-mail address > shown in this page: > > https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10208324530363130&set=ecnf.1000413042 > > (Possibly an identity confusion, but I rate that as unlikely based on > other facebook snooping) > > I don't think a short, polite e-mail request would be out of bounds, > they can always ignore it or tell you to go away. > > cheers > Ben Bolker > > On 6/2/21 1:15 PM, Ben Staton wrote: > > Hello, > > > > Thank you for your detailed list of solutions. > > > > I was initially tempted to go with option 1 (move matrixcalc to suggests > > and check for its existence before using functions that rely on it), but > as > > mentioned, this is not a long term fix. > > > > I unfortunately can't take on the responsibilities of option 2 (becoming > > the package maintainer) -- there is much that this package does that I do > > not understand, and do not wish to feign authority! > > > > I plan to take option 3 (copy the needed functions into my package). > There > > are only three functions I need from matrixcalc, and all three are fairly > > simple (is.square.matrix > > <https://rdrr.io/cran/matrixcalc/src/R/is.square.matrix.R>, > > is.symmetric.matrix > > <https://rdrr.io/cran/matrixcalc/src/R/is.symmetric.matrix.R>, and > > is.positive.definite > > <https://rdrr.io/cran/matrixcalc/src/R/is.positive.definite.R>) and > there > > is only one function in postpack that needs them. I plan to define them > > within the postpack function. matrixcalc is licensed under GPL >= 2 and > > based on my scan of the license text, this is allowed. Is that correct? > > > > Regarding option 4 (contacting the matrixcalc maintainer), the original > > email from CRAN mentioned that they have attempted to contact the package > > author with no response. > > > > Thank you! > > > > On Wed, Jun 2, 2021 at 9:52 AM J C Nash <profjcn...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > >> I just downloaded the source matrixcalc package to see what it > contained. > >> The functions > >> I looked at seem fairly straightforward and the OP could likely develop > >> equivalent features > >> in his own code, possibly avoiding a function call. Avoiding the > function > >> call means NAMESPACE etc. are not involved, so fewer places for getting > >> into > >> trouble, assuming the inline code works properly. > >> > >> JN > >> > >> > >> On 2021-06-02 12:37 p.m., Duncan Murdoch wrote: > >>> On 02/06/2021 12:13 p.m., Ben Staton wrote: > >>>> Hello, > >>>> > >>>> I received an email notice from CRAN indicating that my R package > >>>> ('postpack') will be archived soon if I do not take any action and I > >> want > >>>> to avoid that outcome. The issue is not caused by my package, but > >> instead a > >>>> package that my package depends on: > >>>> > >>>> "... package 'matrixcalc' is now scheduled for archival on 2021-06-09, > >>>> and archiving this will necessitate also archiving its strong reverse > >>>> dependencies." > >>>> > >>>> Evidently, xyz has been returning errors on new R builds prompting > CRAN > >> to > >>>> list it as a package to be archived. My package, 'postpack' has > >>>> 'matrixcalc' listed in the Imports field, which I assume is why I > >> received > >>>> this email. > >>>> > >>>> I want to keep 'postpack' active and don't want it to be archived. I > >> still > >>>> need package 'matrixcalc' for my package, but not for most functions. > >> Could > >>>> I simply move package 'matrixcalc' to the Suggests list and submit the > >> new > >>>> version to CRAN to remove the "Strong Reverse Dependency" issue that > >>>> triggered this email to avoid CRAN from archiving my package? > >>> > >>> That's part of one solution, but not the best solution. > >>> > >>> If you move it to Suggests, you should make sure that your package > >> checks for it before every use, and falls back to > >>> some other calculation if it is not present. Be aware that once it is > >> archived, almost none of your users will have it > >>> available, so this is kind of like dropping the functions that it > >> supports. > >>> > >>> Another solution which would be great for the community might be for > you > >> to offer to take over as maintainer of > >>> matrixcalc. Then you'd fix whatever problems it has, and you wouldn't > >> need to worry about it. I haven't looked at the > >>> issues so I don't know if this is feasible. > >>> > >>> A third choice would be for you to copy the functions you need from > >> matrixcalc into your own package so you can drop the > >>> dependency. This is generally legal under the licenses that CRAN > >> accepts, but you should check anyway. > >>> > >>> A fourth choice would be for you to contact the matrixcalc maintainer, > >> and help them to fix the issues so that > >>> matrixcalc doesn't get archived. They may or may not be willing to > work > >> with you. > >>> > >>> I'd say my third choice is the best choice in the short term, and 2nd > or > >> 4th would be good long term solutions. > >>> > >>> Duncan Murdoch > >>> > >>> ______________________________________________ > >>> R-package-devel@r-project.org mailing list > >>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-package-devel > >> > > > > [[alternative HTML version deleted]] > > > > ______________________________________________ > > R-package-devel@r-project.org mailing list > > https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-package-devel > > > > ______________________________________________ > R-package-devel@r-project.org mailing list > https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-package-devel > [[alternative HTML version deleted]] ______________________________________________ R-package-devel@r-project.org mailing list https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-package-devel
