Writing unit tests for complicated objects such as text outputs containing many characters, html, .rtf, graphical outputs, etc is very challenging. The new feature in the 3rd edition of testthat package gives the users the ability to record the expected output in a separate file to review by the user instead of using code to describe expected output. It provides tools to automatically generate and update that file as needed. In this presentation, I will go over my recent experience of working with snapshot tests in the 3rd edition of testthat package in validating complicated objects in R.
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There has been a rapid uptake in the use of non-linear dimensionality reduction (NLDR) methods such as t-distributed stochastic neighbour embedding (t-SNE) in the natural sciences as part of cluster orientation and dimension reduction workflows. The appropriate use of these methods is made difficult by their complex parameterisations and the multitude of decisions required to balance the preservation of local and global structure in the resulting visualisation. We present visual diagnostics for the pragmatic usage of NLDR methods by combining them with a technique called the tour.
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ggpcp is an R package developed for the generalized parallel coordinate plots which are a useful set of graphics for visualizing data with more than 2-dimensions. It is generalized in the sense of combining numeric and categorical variables together while keeping the ability to track each observation. It helps to see some interesting aspects of the “high”-dimensional data.
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Most modern data analysis requires the use of statistical software. The results of data analysis then rely on the underlying software utilized and the actions applied to data. R, one of the most widely-used statistical softwares for data analysis, relies on user-developed “packages” for many data science and data analysis tasks. These packages are subject to change over time, which can impact computational reproducibility efforts, as well as frustrate users who are left to hunt down problems in broken code.
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A personal website is an incomparable platform for building your online profile and showcasing your amazing work (research or other interesting stuff). Blogdown is a popular R package developed for producing a static website from R Markdown documents. Even if you are currently using GitHub pages for your personal website, you might be interested in this talk after reading this post by Yihui. In this talk, we’ll introduce some tips and tricks for building a personal website with Blogdown based on our own experience.
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