style.qmd

---
execute: 
  eval: false
---

# ESQlabs' R Style Guide

At ESQlabs, we follow the [tidyverse style guide](https://style.tidyverse.org) with very few changes. The following sections outline the most important differences with the Tidyverse guide.

## Syntax

### Naming Conventions

For simplicity, users should use `snake_case` as recommended by the tidyverse style (this is not the case for developers that should follow the [OSPS-R coding standards](https://github.com/Open-Systems-Pharmacology/Suite/blob/develop/CODING_STANDARDS_R.md)).

However the naming style depends on the type of object: 

-   Variable and function names should use only letters and numbers. Use `snake_case` to separate words within a name:

    ```{r}
    # Good
    fit_model <- function() {
      # code
    }
    results_df <- data.frame()
    ```

-   True constant variables should use `ALL_CAPS` casing:

    ```{r}
    # Good
    CONSTANT_VAR <- 1
    ```

-   Use short meaningful and understandable names. The code should read as a story and only some well-known abbreviations should be used:

    ```{r}
    # Good
    pk_data <- read_excel("pkDataFile.xls")

    # Bad
    pharmacokinetics_data <- read_excel("pkDataFile.xls") # Too long
    ```

### Spacing

Because it is not explicitly said in the tidyverse guideline and for improved code readability, use the following indentation settings:

-   Use spaces instead of tabs
-   Use indentation width of 2

You can check that these settings are correctly set in Tools \> Global Options \> Code \> Editing:

![](images/indent_settings.png){width="130"}

## Functions

### `return()`

Prefer using `return()` for explicitly returning result, although you can rely on R to implicitly return the result of the last evaluated expression in a function.

## Line length

Avoid having long lines. Restrict yourself to 120 characters (instead of the usual limit of 80 characters).