8 The NEWS file

A NEWS file should be included to keep track of changes to the code from one version to the next. It can be a top level file or in the inst/ directory. Only one NEWS file should exist in the repository.

The following are acceptable locations and formats:

location	format
./inst/NEWS.Rd	\(\LaTeX\)
./inst/NEWS	formatted text see ?news
./inst/NEWS.md	markdown
./NEWS.md	markdown
./NEWS	formatted text see ?news

Specifics on formatting can be found on the help page for ?news. Bioconductor uses the NEWS file to create the semi-annual release announcement. It must include list elements and cannot be a plain text file.

An example format:

Changes in version 0.99.0 (2018-05-15)
+ Submitted to Bioconductor

Changes in version 1.1.1 (2018-06-15)
+ Fixed bug. Begin indexing from 1 instead of 2
+ Made the following significant changes
  o added a subsetting method
  o added a new field to database

After you install your package, the following can be run to see if the NEWS is properly formatted:

utils::news(package="<name of your package>")

The output should look similar to the following:

Changes in version 1.1.1 (2018-06-15):

    o   Fixed bug. Begin indexing from 1 instead of 2

    o   Made the following significant changes
    o added a subsetting method
    o added a new field to database

Changes in version 0.99.0 (2018-05-15):

    o   Submitted to Bioconductor

If you get something like the following there are formatting errors that need to be corrected:

Version: 0.99.0
Date: 2018-05-15
Text: Submitted to Bioconductor

Version: 1.1.1
Date: 2018-06-15
Text: Fixed bug. Begin indexing from 1 instead of 2

Version: 1.1.1
Date: 2018-06-15
Text: Made the following significant changes o added a subsetting
    method o added a new field to database