RcppCore / RcppCore/Rcpp

Changes in downstream packages required by #1402

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Dominant language
C++
Stars
799
Forks
219
Avg merge
5h 13m
Merged PRs (30d)
6

Description

PR #1402 addresses the long-standing issue #1247 by masking Rf_error() and preferring Rcpp::stop(). A relatively small number of packages do need a minor adjustment each: often just a removal of an #include <R.h> which may mess with the NO_REMAP macro, or a simple re-run of compileAttributes(). This issue will regroup these changes and is based on the 2025-11-04 reverse dependency run summarized in this text file as mention in this comment.

The checklist will be expanded "in due course" to record PRs (or emailed patches).

Group 1: Including R.h which is best avoided

This is an issue we should be more proactive about (as for example RcppArmadillo is w.r.t. Rcpp.h as it can lead to issues with re-definitions of error() as seen here. It is usually both harmless, and without side-effects -- until it isn't.
It consists on removing #include <R.h> as well as any other R headers, which are already loaded by Rcpp safely. The change can be made anytime before or after we land the patch in Rcpp.

  • BayesProject: patch emailed 2025-12-21
  • GeneralizedWendland: patch emailed 2025-12-21
  • locStra: patch emailed 2025-12-21
  • LOMAR: patch emailed 2025-12-21, on CRAN 2025-12-22
  • SAM: patch emailed 2025-12-21, on CRAN 2026-02-19
  • TDA: patch emailed 2025-12-21
Group 2: Use -DRCPP_NO_MASK_RF_ERROR if needed

Some packages have a complicated-enough setup, possibly with other callbacks into R, making use of Rf_error() unavoidable. In those cases a #define can be used to restore the status quo. These package can apply the change anytime.

  • ggiraph: davidgohel/ggiraph/pull/343 filled 2025-12-22, merged 2026-01-16, version 0.9.3 on CRAN 2026-01-19
  • mmrm: openpharma/mmrm/pull/556 filled 2025-12-22, merged 2026-01-07, on CRAN 2026-01-08
  • RTMB: kaskr/RTMB/pull/78 filled 2025-12-22, fixed 2025-12-24, on CRAN 2026-03-20
  • s2: r-spatial/s2/pull/292 filled 2025-12-22, merged 2025-12-31
Group 3: Use custom patch

This mostly consists of applying a custom manual patch that switches to Rcpp::stop().

  • cpr: dewittpe/cpr/pull/63 filled 2025-12-22, merged 2025-12-23, on CRAN 2026-01-08
  • VIC5: CUG-hydro/VIC5.R/pull/2 filled 2025-12-22, merged 2026-01-23
Group 4: Re-run compileAttributes()

Packages that defined an Rcpp::interface(cpp) have a resulting RcppExports.cpp that checks for correct (function) pointers and calls Rf_error(). An compileAttributes() re-run once the PR has landed will fix this. So these packages may be on hold until we make the change in Rcpp, likely right after the next release so early 2026. They can however apply the patch we prepared if they use the current GitHub version of Rcpp.

  • BGVAR: run compileAttributes(), patch
  • coga: run compileAttributes(), patch; version 1.2.3 on CRAN 2026-03-07
  • comat: run compileAttributes(), patch; version 0.9.7 on CRAN 2026-03-05
  • dqrng: run compileAttributes(), patch
  • itp: run compileAttributes(), patch; version 1.2.2 on CRAN 2026-01-10
  • meteoland: run compileAttributes(), patch; on CRAN 2026-02-18
  • ravetools: run compileAttributes(), patch
  • RcppSimdJson: run compileAttributes(), patch; version 0.1.15 on CRAN 2026-01-14
  • rrum: run compileAttributes(), patch
  • rucrdtw: run compileAttributes(), patch; version 0.1.7 on CRAN 2026-03-06
  • sf: run compileAttributes(), patch; on CRAN 2026-02-24
  • simcdm: run compileAttributes(), patch

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Read the reverse-dependency report Rcpp-20251104.txt and the unchecked package entries in this issue. For a selected package, inspect its R headers or generated RcppExports.cpp, then apply the listed action—remove unnecessary R headers, add the requested define, use the custom patch, or rerun compileAttributes(). Done means the package adjustment is complete and its checklist entry can be updated.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp, r
Domain
build-system, tooling
Issue type
Refactor
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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