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Reduce R6 boilerplate and add $ prefix to methods title #1814

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35bfcde
Reduce R6 boilerplate
hadley Mar 17, 2026
7dd1b60
Add `$` prefix
hadley Mar 17, 2026
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2 changes: 2 additions & 0 deletions NEWS.md
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
* `@examplesIf` now warns when there is no example code after the condition (#1695).
* `tag_words_line()` is deprecated in favour of `tag_words()`, which now checks for single-line content by default. Use `tag_words(x, multiline = TRUE)` or `tag_value(x, multiline = TRUE)` if your tag legitimately spans multiple lines.
* R6 improvements:
* R6 method documentation now uses less boilerplate: the "Method" prefix is removed from subsection headings, and the "Usage" and "Arguments" sub-subsection wrappers are removed (#1153).
* R6 method headings now get a `$` prefix. This should prevent downlit from linking them inappropriately (#1258).
* `initialize()` method parameters now automatically inherit documentation from `@field` tags with the same name, reducing the need to duplicate descriptions. Explicit `@param` tags still take precedence (#1004).
* New `needs_roxygenize()` provides a lightweight check that man pages are up-to-date by comparing modification times of `.Rd` files with their source files (#1411).
* All generated links now use the same code path. This will lead to some minor differences when you re-document, but overall the links will now be more consistent (#1792).
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8 changes: 3 additions & 5 deletions R/rd-r6-methods-self.R
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Expand Up @@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ format.rd_r6_method <- function(x, ...) {
push(rd_if_html("<hr>"))
push(rd_if_html('<a id="', id, '"></a>'))
push(rd_if_latex("\\hypertarget{", id, "}{}"))
push(paste0("\\subsection{Method \\code{", nm, "()}}{"))
push(paste0("\\subsection{\\code{$", nm, "()}}{"))

# Description
if (length(x$description) > 0) {
Expand All @@ -57,8 +57,7 @@ format.rd_r6_method <- function(x, ...) {
usage_name <- paste0(x$alias, "$", nm)
fake <- paste(rep("X", nchar(usage_name)), collapse = "")
usage <- format(function_usage(fake, x$formals))
push_subsection(
"Usage",
push(

@gaborcsardi gaborcsardi Mar 17, 2026

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I like these sections because R users are familiar with them already, and they introduce more structure. The same with the 'Method' prefix. I think it is ok to make the docs more verbose if it helps discovery and reduces ambiguity. I agree that the boilerplate can be very repetitive, but I think for a reference manual that is ok. (Not for a tutorial otoh.)

But this is somewhat subjective, and I don't have a very strong opinion about these changes, so feel free to go ahead with them.

rd_if_html('<div class="r">'),
paste0("\\preformatted{", sub(paste0("^", fake), usage_name, usage), "}"),
rd_if_html("</div>")
Expand All @@ -68,8 +67,7 @@ format.rd_r6_method <- function(x, ...) {
if (length(x$params) > 0) {
nms <- map_chr(x$params, \(p) p$name)
vals <- map_chr(x$params, \(p) p$description)
push_subsection(
"Arguments",
push(
rd_if_html('<div class="arguments">'),
"\\describe{",
paste0("\\item{\\code{", nms, "}}{", vals, "}"),
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23 changes: 4 additions & 19 deletions tests/testthat/_snaps/rd-r6-class.md
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Expand Up @@ -50,14 +50,11 @@
\if{html}{\out{<hr>}}
\if{html}{\out{<a id="method-C2-meth1"></a>}}
\if{latex}{\out{\hypertarget{method-C2-meth1}{}}}
\subsection{Method \code{meth1()}}{
\subsection{\code{$meth1()}}{
method1
\subsection{Usage}{
\if{html}{\out{<div class="r">}}
\preformatted{C2$meth1()}
\if{html}{\out{</div>}}
}

}
}

Expand All @@ -84,34 +81,25 @@
\if{html}{\out{<hr>}}
\if{html}{\out{<a id="method-B-shared"></a>}}
\if{latex}{\out{\hypertarget{method-B-shared}{}}}
\subsection{Method \code{shared()}}{
\subsection{\code{$shared()}}{
Method from B.
\subsection{Usage}{
\if{html}{\out{<div class="r">}}
\preformatted{B$shared()}
\if{html}{\out{</div>}}
}

}
\if{html}{\out{<hr>}}
\if{html}{\out{<a id="method-B-clone"></a>}}
\if{latex}{\out{\hypertarget{method-B-clone}{}}}
\subsection{Method \code{clone()}}{
\subsection{\code{$clone()}}{
The objects of this class are cloneable with this method.
\subsection{Usage}{
\if{html}{\out{<div class="r">}}
\preformatted{B$clone(deep = FALSE)}
\if{html}{\out{</div>}}
}

\subsection{Arguments}{
\if{html}{\out{<div class="arguments">}}
\describe{
\item{\code{deep}}{Whether to make a deep clone.}
}
\if{html}{\out{</div>}}
}

}
}

Expand All @@ -129,18 +117,15 @@
\if{html}{\out{<hr>}}
\if{html}{\out{<a id="method-C-meth"></a>}}
\if{latex}{\out{\hypertarget{method-C-meth}{}}}
\subsection{Method \code{meth()}}{
\subsection{\code{$meth()}}{
Method description.

\subsection{Description section}{
Description section body.
}
\subsection{Usage}{
\if{html}{\out{<div class="r">}}
\preformatted{C$meth()}
\if{html}{\out{</div>}}
}

\subsection{Details}{
\subsection{Details section}{
Details section body.
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23 changes: 4 additions & 19 deletions tests/testthat/_snaps/rd-r6-methods-self.md
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Expand Up @@ -24,24 +24,18 @@
\if{html}{\out{<hr>}}
\if{html}{\out{<a id="method-Person-greet"></a>}}
\if{latex}{\out{\hypertarget{method-Person-greet}{}}}
\subsection{Method \code{greet()}}{
\subsection{\code{$greet()}}{
Say hello.
\subsection{Usage}{
\if{html}{\out{<div class="r">}}
\preformatted{Person$greet(who, how = "nicely")}
\if{html}{\out{</div>}}
}

\subsection{Arguments}{
\if{html}{\out{<div class="arguments">}}
\describe{
\item{\code{who}}{Name to greet.}
\item{\code{how}}{Greeting style.}
}
\if{html}{\out{</div>}}
}

}

# format.rd_r6_method renames initialize to new

Expand All @@ -51,15 +45,12 @@
\if{html}{\out{<hr>}}
\if{html}{\out{<a id="method-Foo-new"></a>}}
\if{latex}{\out{\hypertarget{method-Foo-new}{}}}
\subsection{Method \code{new()}}{
\subsection{\code{$new()}}{
Create object.
\subsection{Usage}{
\if{html}{\out{<div class="r">}}
\preformatted{Foo$new()}
\if{html}{\out{</div>}}
}

}

# format.rd_r6_method includes optional sections

Expand All @@ -69,14 +60,11 @@
\if{html}{\out{<hr>}}
\if{html}{\out{<a id="method-Job-run"></a>}}
\if{latex}{\out{\hypertarget{method-Job-run}{}}}
\subsection{Method \code{run()}}{
\subsection{\code{$run()}}{
Run the job.
\subsection{Usage}{
\if{html}{\out{<div class="r">}}
\preformatted{Job$run()}
\if{html}{\out{</div>}}
}

\subsection{Details}{
Some details.
}
Expand All @@ -102,13 +90,10 @@
\if{html}{\out{<hr>}}
\if{html}{\out{<a id="method-Job-run"></a>}}
\if{latex}{\out{\hypertarget{method-Job-run}{}}}
\subsection{Method \code{run()}}{
\subsection{\code{$run()}}{
Run.
\subsection{Usage}{
\if{html}{\out{<div class="r">}}
\preformatted{Job$run()}
\if{html}{\out{</div>}}
}

}

5 changes: 1 addition & 4 deletions tests/testthat/_snaps/rd-r6-methods.md
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Expand Up @@ -12,14 +12,11 @@
\if{html}{\out{<hr>}}
\if{html}{\out{<a id="method-Foo-run"></a>}}
\if{latex}{\out{\hypertarget{method-Foo-run}{}}}
\subsection{Method \code{run()}}{
\subsection{\code{$run()}}{
Run it.
\subsection{Usage}{
\if{html}{\out{<div class="r">}}
\preformatted{Foo$run()}
\if{html}{\out{</div>}}
}

}
}

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