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taxa

ANALYTICS
Velocity0.0

Classes and manipulation functions for taxonomic data in R

github.com/ropensci/taxa ↗

taxa started a ground-up rewrite in 2021 and has published almost nothing since.

taxonomyvctrsstalled-rewritecran-maintenanceropensci
◆Current state
0.4.0 began a complete rewrite aimed at making the component classes behave like base R vectors, explicitly shipping without the `taxmap` class and parking the old implementation inside metacoder until the new one matured. Four years later that is still where things stand: 0.4.2 experimented with `''` instead of `NA` for missing values and chased a vctrs test break, and 0.4.4 fixed CRAN check issues. The releases before the rewrite were the productive ones — `taxonomy_table()`, `print_tree()`, `get_dataset()`, fuzzy name matching, faster parsers.
◆Where it's heading
The rewrite has not landed. `taxmap`, the class most users came for, was never reimplemented in the new design, and the only releases since are CRAN compliance. Meanwhile metacoder still carries the old taxa, which means the ecosystem is running on the version the rewrite was meant to replace. This reads as a stalled migration rather than an active one.
◆Prediction
Nothing in the entries indicates the rewrite is resuming; the likely next release is another CRAN-check fix. Whether `taxmap` ever arrives in the new design is unresolved.

◆Recent moves

  1. 1y ago

    taxa 0.4.4 fixes CRAN check issues

    Minor CRAN check fixes, three years after the previous release. It keeps the package installable without advancing the 0.4.0 rewrite.

    View source ↗
  2. 4y ago

    taxa 0.4.2 tries empty strings for missing values

    Experiments with empty strings rather than NA for missing values and repairs tests broken by a vctrs update. Small movement inside the new vector-like design.

    View source ↗
  3. 5y ago

    taxa 0.4.0 begins a base-R-vector rewrite without taxmap

    ⚡ SPARK

    The rewrite that reset the package: component classes rebuilt to behave like base R vectors, `taxmap` deliberately left out, and the old implementation moved into metacoder in the meantime. Everything since has been maintenance on this unfinished foundation.

    View source ↗
  4. 6y ago

    taxa 0.3.4 fixes n_obs with numeric column names

    Fixes an `n_obs` error on tables with numeric column names plus assorted small bugs. Routine work on the pre-rewrite codebase.

    View source ↗
  5. 6y ago

    taxa 0.3.3 supports numeric column names in taxmap

    Adds support for numeric column names in taxmap tables and small bug fixes. Incremental upkeep of the old design.

    View source ↗
  6. 7y ago

    taxa 0.3.2 fixes parsers and adds negative class_col indexes

    Handles zero-length parser inputs, fixes `add_id_col`, and lets `class_col` take negative indexes meaning 'all other columns'. Small parser refinements.

    View source ↗