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TAF

ANALYTICS
Velocity0.0

Transparent Assessment Framework for Reproducible Research

github.com/ices-tools-prod/TAF ↗

TAF keeps turning ICES stock assessments into reproducible, dependency-pinned projects.

reproducibilityfisheries-scienceicesdependency-managementzero-dependency
◆Current state
TAF is the R tooling behind the ICES Transparent Assessment Framework, which standardizes how fish stock assessments are laid out, sourced and rerun. The 4.3.0 release is the largest in years, adding roughly ten functions covering dependency installation and analysis, software version checks, directory inspection and README drafting. The package has carried zero non-base dependencies since 4.0.0, and the new work is careful not to break that.
◆Where it's heading
The arc runs from analysis runner to project toolkit. Early 3.x releases built out the bootstrap and metadata machinery; 4.0.0 renamed the package and stripped every external dependency; 4.2.0 cleaned up vocabulary that confused users. 4.3.0 turns outward to the people running assessments — install.deps(), pdeps() and check.software() address reproducing someone else's environment, while draft.readme(), taf.example() and dir.tree() address understanding an unfamiliar project.
◆Prediction
Expect the follow-up work to harden the new dependency functions rather than add more surface, since 4.3.1 arrived immediately to fix wide2long() compatibility with older R and that batch of ten functions has had little field exposure.

◆Recent moves

  1. 10mo ago

    TAF 4.3.1 reworks wide2long() for older R

    An immediate patch on 4.3.0, reimplementing wide2long() internally so it runs on older R versions. Same output, wider reach — and a sign the large 4.3.0 batch went out with limited version testing.

    View source ↗
  2. 10mo ago

    TAF 4.3.0 adds dependency and project-scaffolding tooling

    The biggest release since the 4.0.0 refocus, adding around ten functions at once. The theme is other people's projects: installing and analyzing dependencies, checking global package versions, and drafting the README and directory overview someone needs to make sense of an assessment they did not write.

    View source ↗
  3. 3y ago

    TAF 4.2.0 renames 'bootstrap' to 'boot', keeps back-compat

    A vocabulary correction with real reach: 'bootstrap' becomes 'boot' to stop colliding with the statistical meaning, and method.R joins model.R for analyses where 'model' misleads. Existing projects with legacy bootstrap folders keep working, which is the detail that makes this safe to adopt.

    View source ↗
  4. 3y ago

    TAF 4.1.0 adds taf2html() and dot.case function aliases

    HTML table output arrives, deps() learns to read Rmd files, and the read/write functions start warning about missing or duplicated column names. The camelCase-to-dot.case aliases hint at a naming convention being settled rather than enforced retroactively.

    View source ↗
  5. 5y ago

    TAF 4.0.0 refocuses on ICES and drops every external dependency

    ⚡ SPARK

    The pivot the current package is built on: renamed, rescoped to general ICES Transparent Assessment Framework support, and stripped of all non-base dependencies. Every release since has had to respect that zero-dependency constraint.

    View source ↗
  6. 5y ago

    TAF 3.6.0 adds metadata tooling and drops the bibtex dependency

    Data-provenance functions arrive together — draft.data.script(), taf.roxygenise(), taf.sources() and path helpers. Replacing bibtex with an internal read.bib() prefigures the total dependency removal that lands in 4.0.0.

    View source ↗