Hey everyone, a beginner who wants some clarity on packages in r: when I run installed_packages() function, I get the following options: "base", "recommended", and NA. If "base" packages are already installed and loaded into R, but "recommended" packages are installed but need to be loaded by the user, what are the NA packages? What does that even mean? I've actually asked this question a few times on this platform, and I feel a little dumb asking multiple times, but I honestly can't seem to understand what the NA in this context means. Please explain in very simple terms if you can, thank you.
Hi @Iman_456
- base - packages which are installed and updated with R - they are part of R itself. Can only depend on other base packages.
- recommended - "in the usual case" will be also pre-installed with R (unless the one distributing R wants to keep it as small as possible like GitHub - r-hub/r-minimal: Minimal Docker images for R - then they are ommited and have to be installed like any other package). They can also be updated without an R release. Can only depend on other base or recommended packages.
- NA - every other package. Most common type in the community. There are basically no restrictions.
I tried my best to keep it short 
This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.
If you have a query related to it or one of the replies, start a new topic and refer back with a link.