Package 'tarchetypes'

Title: Archetypes for Targets
Description: Function-oriented Make-like declarative pipelines for Statistics and data science are supported in the 'targets' R package. As an extension to 'targets', the 'tarchetypes' package provides convenient user-side functions to make 'targets' easier to use. By establishing reusable archetypes for common kinds of targets and pipelines, these functions help express complicated reproducible pipelines concisely and compactly. The methods in this package were influenced by the 'targets' R package. by Will Landau (2018) <doi:10.21105/joss.00550>.
Authors: William Michael Landau [aut, cre] , Rudolf Siegel [ctb] , Samantha Oliver [rev] , Tristan Mahr [rev] , Eli Lilly and Company [cph, fnd]
Maintainer: William Michael Landau <[email protected]>
License: MIT + file LICENSE
Version: 0.11.0.9002
Built: 2024-12-20 21:19:00 UTC
Source: https://github.com/ropensci/tarchetypes

Help Index


targets: Archetypes for Targets

Description

A pipeline toolkit for R, the targets package brings together function-oriented programming and Make-like declarative pipelines for Statistics and data science. The tarchetypes package provides convenient helper functions to create specialized targets, making pipelines in targets easier and cleaner to write and understand.


Create a target that runs when the last run gets old

Description

tar_age() creates a target that reruns itself when it gets old enough. In other words, the target reruns periodically at regular intervals of time.

Usage

tar_age(
  name,
  command,
  age,
  pattern = NULL,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

Arguments

name

Name of the target. tar_cue_age() expects an unevaluated symbol for the name argument, whereas tar_cue_age_raw() expects a character string for name.

command

R code to run the target and return a value.

age

A difftime object of length 1, such as as.difftime(3, units = "days"). If the target's output data files are older than age (according to the most recent time stamp over all the target's output files) then the target will rerun. On the other hand, if at least one data file is younger than Sys.time() - age, then the ordinary invalidation rules apply, and the target may or not rerun. If you want to force the target to run every 3 days, for example, set age = as.difftime(3, units = "days").

pattern

Code to define a dynamic branching branching for a target. In tar_target(), pattern is an unevaluated expression, e.g. tar_target(pattern = map(data)). In tar_target_raw(), command is an evaluated expression, e.g. tar_target_raw(pattern = quote(map(data))).

To demonstrate dynamic branching patterns, suppose we have a pipeline with numeric vector targets x and y. Then, tar_target(z, x + y, pattern = map(x, y)) implicitly defines branches of z that each compute x[1] + y[1], x[2] + y[2], and so on. See the user manual for details.

tidy_eval

Logical, whether to enable tidy evaluation when interpreting command and pattern. If TRUE, you can use the "bang-bang" operator ⁠!!⁠ to programmatically insert the values of global objects.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

format

Logical, whether to rerun the target if the user-specified storage format changed. The storage format is user-specified through tar_target() or tar_option_set().

repository

Logical, whether to rerun the target if the user-specified storage repository changed. The storage repository is user-specified through tar_target() or tar_option_set().

iteration

Logical, whether to rerun the target if the user-specified iteration method changed. The iteration method is user-specified through tar_target() or tar_option_set().

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

storage

Character string to control when the output of the target is saved to storage. Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's return value is sent back to the host machine and saved/uploaded locally.

  • "worker": the worker saves/uploads the value.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to save the result of the target to storage in the location where targets expects it to be. Saving to storage is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

A targets::tar_cue() object. (See the "Cue objects" section for background.) This cue object should contain any optional secondary invalidation rules, anything except the mode argument. mode will be automatically determined by the age argument of tar_age().

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

Details

tar_age() uses the cue from tar_cue_age(), which uses the time stamps from targets::tar_meta()$time. See the help file of targets::tar_timestamp() for an explanation of how this time stamp is calculated.

Value

A target object. See the "Target objects" section for background.

Dynamic branches at regular time intervals

Time stamps are not recorded for whole dynamic targets, so tar_age() is not a good fit for dynamic branching. To invalidate dynamic branches at regular intervals, it is recommended to use targets::tar_older() in combination with targets::tar_invalidate() right before calling tar_make(). For example, tar_invalidate(any_of(tar_older(Sys.time - as.difftime(1, units = "weeks")))) # nolint invalidates all targets more than a week old. Then, the next tar_make() will rerun those targets.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other cues: tar_cue_age(), tar_cue_force(), tar_cue_skip()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  library(tarchetypes)
  list(
    tarchetypes::tar_age(
      data,
      data.frame(x = seq_len(26)),
      age = as.difftime(0.5, units = "secs")
    )
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
Sys.sleep(0.6)
targets::tar_make()
})
}

An assignment-based pipeline DSL

Description

An assignment-based domain-specific language for pipeline construction.

Usage

tar_assign(targets)

Arguments

targets

An expression with special syntax to define a collection of targets in a pipeline. Example: tar_assign(x <- tar_target(get_data())) is equivalent to list(tar_target(x, get_data())). The rules of the syntax are as follows:

  • The code supplied to tar_assign() must be enclosed in curly braces beginning with ⁠{⁠ and ⁠}⁠ unless it only contains a one-line statement or uses = as the assignment.

  • Each statement in the code block must be of the form x <- f(), or x = f() where x is the name of a target and f() is a function like tar_target() or tar_quarto() which accepts a name argument.

  • The native pipe operator ⁠|>⁠ is allowed because it lazily evaluates its arguments and be converted into non-pipe syntax without evaluating the code.

Value

A list of tar_target() objects. See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
write.csv(airquality, "data.csv", row.names = FALSE)
targets::tar_script({
  library(tarchetypes)
  tar_option_set(packages = c("readr", "dplyr", "ggplot2"))
  tar_assign({
    file <- tar_target("data.csv", format = "file")

    data <- read_csv(file, col_types = cols()) |>
      filter(!is.na(Ozone)) |>
      tar_target()

    model = lm(Ozone ~ Temp, data) |>
      coefficients() |>
      tar_target()

    plot <- {
        ggplot(data) +
          geom_point(aes(x = Temp, y = Ozone)) +
          geom_abline(intercept = model[1], slope = model[2]) +
          theme_gray(24)
      } |>
        tar_target()
  })
})
targets::tar_make()
})
}

Target that responds to an arbitrary change.

Description

Create a target that responds to a change in an arbitrary value. If the value changes, the target reruns.

Usage

tar_change(
  name,
  command,
  change,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

Arguments

name

Symbol, name of the target. In tar_target(), name is an unevaluated symbol, e.g. tar_target(name = data). In tar_target_raw(), name is a character string, e.g. tar_target_raw(name = "data").

A target name must be a valid name for a symbol in R, and it must not start with a dot. Subsequent targets can refer to this name symbolically to induce a dependency relationship: e.g. tar_target(downstream_target, f(upstream_target)) is a target named downstream_target which depends on a target upstream_target and a function f(). In addition, a target's name determines its random number generator seed. In this way, each target runs with a reproducible seed so someone else running the same pipeline should get the same results, and no two targets in the same pipeline share the same seed. (Even dynamic branches have different names and thus different seeds.) You can recover the seed of a completed target with tar_meta(your_target, seed) and run tar_seed_set() on the result to locally recreate the target's initial RNG state.

command

R code to run the target. In tar_target(), command is an unevaluated expression, e.g. tar_target(command = data). In tar_target_raw(), command is an evaluated expression, e.g. tar_target_raw(command = quote(data)).

change

R code for the upstream change-inducing target.

tidy_eval

Whether to invoke tidy evaluation (e.g. the ⁠!!⁠ operator from rlang) as soon as the target is defined (before tar_make()). Applies to arguments command and change.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

format

Optional storage format for the target's return value. With the exception of format = "file", each target gets a file in ⁠_targets/objects⁠, and each format is a different way to save and load this file. See the "Storage formats" section for a detailed list of possible data storage formats.

repository

Character of length 1, remote repository for target storage. Choices:

Note: if repository is not "local" and format is "file" then the target should create a single output file. That output file is uploaded to the cloud and tracked for changes where it exists in the cloud. The local file is deleted after the target runs.

iteration

Character of length 1, name of the iteration mode of the target. Choices:

  • "vector": branching happens with vctrs::vec_slice() and aggregation happens with vctrs::vec_c().

  • "list", branching happens with ⁠[[]]⁠ and aggregation happens with list().

  • "group": dplyr::group_by()-like functionality to branch over subsets of a non-dynamic data frame. For iteration = "group", the target must not by dynamic (the pattern argument of tar_target() must be left NULL). The target's return value must be a data frame with a special tar_group column of consecutive integers from 1 through the number of groups. Each integer designates a group, and a branch is created for each collection of rows in a group. See the tar_group() function to see how you can create the special tar_group column with dplyr::group_by().

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

storage

Character string to control when the output of the target is saved to storage. Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's return value is sent back to the host machine and saved/uploaded locally.

  • "worker": the worker saves/uploads the value.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to save the result of the target to storage in the location where targets expects it to be. Saving to storage is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date. Only applies to the downstream target. The upstream target always runs.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

Details

tar_change() creates a pair of targets, one upstream and one downstream. The upstream target always runs and returns an auxiliary value. This auxiliary value gets referenced in the downstream target, which causes the downstream target to rerun if the auxiliary value changes. The behavior is cancelled if cue is tar_cue(depend = FALSE) or tar_cue(mode = "never").

Because the upstream target always runs, tar_outdated() and tar_visnetwork() will always show both targets as outdated. However, tar_make() will still skip the downstream one if the upstream target did not detect a change.

Value

A list of two target objects, one upstream and one downstream. The upstream one triggers the change, and the downstream one responds to it. See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other targets with custom invalidation rules: tar_download(), tar_force(), tar_skip()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  list(
    tarchetypes::tar_change(x, command = tempfile(), change = tempfile())
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
targets::tar_make()
})
}

Static aggregation

Description

Aggregate the results of upstream targets into a new target.

tar_combine() expects unevaluated expressions for the name, and command arguments, whereas tar_combine_raw() uses a character string for name and an evaluated expression object for command. See the examples for details.

Usage

tar_combine(
  name,
  ...,
  command = vctrs::vec_c(!!!.x),
  use_names = TRUE,
  pattern = NULL,
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_combine_raw(
  name,
  ...,
  command = expression(vctrs::vec_c(!!!.x)),
  use_names = TRUE,
  pattern = NULL,
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

Arguments

name

Name of the new target. tar_combine() expects unevaluated expressions for the name, and command arguments, whereas tar_combine_raw() uses a character string for name and an evaluated expression object for command. See the examples for details.

...

One or more target objects or list of target objects. Lists can be arbitrarily nested, as in list().

command

R command to aggregate the targets. Must contain !!!.x where the arguments are to be inserted, where ⁠!!!⁠ is the unquote splice operator from rlang.

tar_combine() expects unevaluated expressions for the name, and command arguments, whereas tar_combine_raw() uses a character string for name and an evaluated expression object for command. See the examples for details.

use_names

Logical, whether to insert the names of the targets into the command when splicing.

pattern

Code to define a dynamic branching branching for a target. In tar_target(), pattern is an unevaluated expression, e.g. tar_target(pattern = map(data)). In tar_target_raw(), command is an evaluated expression, e.g. tar_target_raw(pattern = quote(map(data))).

To demonstrate dynamic branching patterns, suppose we have a pipeline with numeric vector targets x and y. Then, tar_target(z, x + y, pattern = map(x, y)) implicitly defines branches of z that each compute x[1] + y[1], x[2] + y[2], and so on. See the user manual for details.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

format

Optional storage format for the target's return value. With the exception of format = "file", each target gets a file in ⁠_targets/objects⁠, and each format is a different way to save and load this file. See the "Storage formats" section for a detailed list of possible data storage formats.

repository

Character of length 1, remote repository for target storage. Choices:

Note: if repository is not "local" and format is "file" then the target should create a single output file. That output file is uploaded to the cloud and tracked for changes where it exists in the cloud. The local file is deleted after the target runs.

iteration

Character of length 1, name of the iteration mode of the target. Choices:

  • "vector": branching happens with vctrs::vec_slice() and aggregation happens with vctrs::vec_c().

  • "list", branching happens with ⁠[[]]⁠ and aggregation happens with list().

  • "group": dplyr::group_by()-like functionality to branch over subsets of a non-dynamic data frame. For iteration = "group", the target must not by dynamic (the pattern argument of tar_target() must be left NULL). The target's return value must be a data frame with a special tar_group column of consecutive integers from 1 through the number of groups. Each integer designates a group, and a branch is created for each collection of rows in a group. See the tar_group() function to see how you can create the special tar_group column with dplyr::group_by().

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

storage

Character string to control when the output of the target is saved to storage. Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's return value is sent back to the host machine and saved/uploaded locally.

  • "worker": the worker saves/uploads the value.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to save the result of the target to storage in the location where targets expects it to be. Saving to storage is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

Value

A new target object to combine the return values from the upstream targets. See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other static branching: tar_map()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  library(tarchetypes)
  target1 <- tar_target(x, head(mtcars))
  target2 <- tar_target(y, tail(mtcars))
  target3 <- tar_combine(
    name = new_target_name,
    target1,
    target2,
    command = dplyr::bind_rows(!!!.x)
  )
  target4 <- tar_combine(
    name = new_target_name2,
    target1,
    target2,
    command = dplyr::bind_rows(!!!.x)
  )
  list(target1, target2, target3, target4)
})
targets::tar_make()
})
}

Cue to run a target when the last output reaches a certain age

Description

tar_cue_age() creates a cue object to rerun a target if the most recent output data becomes old enough. The age of the target is determined by targets::tar_timestamp(), and the way the time stamp is calculated is explained in the Details section of the help file of that function.

tar_cue_age() expects an unevaluated symbol for the name argument, whereas tar_cue_age_raw() expects a character string for name.

Usage

tar_cue_age(
  name,
  age,
  command = TRUE,
  depend = TRUE,
  format = TRUE,
  repository = TRUE,
  iteration = TRUE,
  file = TRUE
)

tar_cue_age_raw(
  name,
  age,
  command = TRUE,
  depend = TRUE,
  format = TRUE,
  repository = TRUE,
  iteration = TRUE,
  file = TRUE
)

Arguments

name

Name of the target. tar_cue_age() expects an unevaluated symbol for the name argument, whereas tar_cue_age_raw() expects a character string for name.

age

A difftime object of length 1, such as as.difftime(3, units = "days"). If the target's output data files are older than age (according to the most recent time stamp over all the target's output files) then the target will rerun. On the other hand, if at least one data file is younger than Sys.time() - age, then the ordinary invalidation rules apply, and the target may or not rerun. If you want to force the target to run every 3 days, for example, set age = as.difftime(3, units = "days").

command

Logical, whether to rerun the target if command changed since last time.

depend

Logical, whether to rerun the target if the value of one of the dependencies changed.

format

Logical, whether to rerun the target if the user-specified storage format changed. The storage format is user-specified through tar_target() or tar_option_set().

repository

Logical, whether to rerun the target if the user-specified storage repository changed. The storage repository is user-specified through tar_target() or tar_option_set().

iteration

Logical, whether to rerun the target if the user-specified iteration method changed. The iteration method is user-specified through tar_target() or tar_option_set().

file

Logical, whether to rerun the target if the file(s) with the return value changed or at least one is missing.

Details

tar_cue_age() uses the time stamps from tar_meta()$time. If no time stamp is recorded, the cue defaults to the ordinary invalidation rules (i.e. mode = "thorough" in targets::tar_cue()).

Value

A cue object. See the "Cue objects" section for background.

Dynamic branches at regular time intervals

Time stamps are not recorded for whole dynamic targets, so tar_age() is not a good fit for dynamic branching. To invalidate dynamic branches at regular intervals, it is recommended to use targets::tar_older() in combination with targets::tar_invalidate() right before calling tar_make(). For example, tar_invalidate(any_of(tar_older(Sys.time - as.difftime(1, units = "weeks")))) # nolint invalidates all targets more than a week old. Then, the next tar_make() will rerun those targets.

Cue objects

A cue object is an object generated by targets::tar_cue(), tarchetypes::tar_cue_force(), or similar. It is a collection of decision rules that decide when a target is invalidated/outdated (e.g. when tar_make() or similar reruns the target). You can supply these cue objects to the tar_target() function or similar. For example, tar_target(x, run_stuff(), cue = tar_cue(mode = "always")) is a target that always calls run_stuff() during tar_make() and always shows as invalidated/outdated in tar_outdated(), tar_visnetwork(), and similar functions.

A cue object is an object generated by targets::tar_cue(), tarchetypes::tar_cue_force(), or similar. It is a collection of decision rules that decide when a target is invalidated/outdated (e.g. when tar_make() or similar reruns the target). You can supply these cue objects to the tar_target() function or similar. For example, tar_target(x, run_stuff(), cue = tar_cue(mode = "always")) is a target that always calls run_stuff() during tar_make() and always shows as invalidated/outdated in tar_outdated(), tar_visnetwork(), and similar functions.

See Also

Other cues: tar_age(), tar_cue_force(), tar_cue_skip()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  library(tarchetypes)
  list(
    targets::tar_target(
      data,
      data.frame(x = seq_len(26)),
      cue = tarchetypes::tar_cue_age(
        name = data,
        age = as.difftime(0.5, units = "secs")
      )
    )
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
Sys.sleep(0.6)
targets::tar_make()
})
}

Cue to force a target to run if a condition is true

Description

tar_cue_force() creates a cue object to force a target to run if an arbitrary condition evaluates to TRUE. Supply the returned cue object to the cue argument of targets::tar_target() or similar.

Usage

tar_cue_force(
  condition,
  command = TRUE,
  depend = TRUE,
  format = TRUE,
  repository = TRUE,
  iteration = TRUE,
  file = TRUE
)

Arguments

condition

Logical vector evaluated locally when the target is defined. If any element of condition is TRUE, the target will definitely rerun when the pipeline runs. Otherwise, the target may or may not rerun, depending on the other invalidation rules. condition is evaluated when this cue factory is called, so the condition cannot depend on upstream targets, and it should be quick to calculate.

command

Logical, whether to rerun the target if command changed since last time.

depend

Logical, whether to rerun the target if the value of one of the dependencies changed.

format

Logical, whether to rerun the target if the user-specified storage format changed. The storage format is user-specified through tar_target() or tar_option_set().

repository

Logical, whether to rerun the target if the user-specified storage repository changed. The storage repository is user-specified through tar_target() or tar_option_set().

iteration

Logical, whether to rerun the target if the user-specified iteration method changed. The iteration method is user-specified through tar_target() or tar_option_set().

file

Logical, whether to rerun the target if the file(s) with the return value changed or at least one is missing.

Details

tar_cue_force() and tar_force() operate differently. The former defines a cue object based on an eagerly evaluated condition, and tar_force() puts the condition in a special upstream target that always runs. Unlike tar_cue_force(), the condition in tar_force() can depend on upstream targets, but the drawback is that targets defined with tar_force() will always show up as outdated in functions like tar_outdated() and tar_visnetwork() even though tar_make() may still skip the main target if the condition is not met.

Value

A cue object. See the "Cue objects" section for background.

Cue objects

A cue object is an object generated by targets::tar_cue(), tarchetypes::tar_cue_force(), or similar. It is a collection of decision rules that decide when a target is invalidated/outdated (e.g. when tar_make() or similar reruns the target). You can supply these cue objects to the tar_target() function or similar. For example, tar_target(x, run_stuff(), cue = tar_cue(mode = "always")) is a target that always calls run_stuff() during tar_make() and always shows as invalidated/outdated in tar_outdated(), tar_visnetwork(), and similar functions.

See Also

Other cues: tar_age(), tar_cue_age(), tar_cue_skip()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  library(tarchetypes)
  list(
    targets::tar_target(
      data,
      data.frame(x = seq_len(26)),
      cue = tarchetypes::tar_cue_force(1 > 0)
    )
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
targets::tar_make()
})
}

Cue to skip a target if a condition is true

Description

tar_cue_skip() creates a cue object to skip a target if an arbitrary condition evaluates to TRUE. The target still builds if it was never built before. Supply the returned cue object to the cue argument of targets::tar_target() or similar.

Usage

tar_cue_skip(
  condition,
  command = TRUE,
  depend = TRUE,
  format = TRUE,
  repository = TRUE,
  iteration = TRUE,
  file = TRUE
)

Arguments

condition

Logical vector evaluated locally when the target is defined. If any element of condition is TRUE, the pipeline will skip the target unless the target has never been built before. If all elements of condition are FALSE, then the target may or may not rerun, depending on the other invalidation rules. condition is evaluated when this cue factory is called, so the condition cannot depend on upstream targets, and it should be quick to calculate.

command

Logical, whether to rerun the target if command changed since last time.

depend

Logical, whether to rerun the target if the value of one of the dependencies changed.

format

Logical, whether to rerun the target if the user-specified storage format changed. The storage format is user-specified through tar_target() or tar_option_set().

repository

Logical, whether to rerun the target if the user-specified storage repository changed. The storage repository is user-specified through tar_target() or tar_option_set().

iteration

Logical, whether to rerun the target if the user-specified iteration method changed. The iteration method is user-specified through tar_target() or tar_option_set().

file

Logical, whether to rerun the target if the file(s) with the return value changed or at least one is missing.

Value

A cue object. See the "Cue objects" section for background.

Cue objects

A cue object is an object generated by targets::tar_cue(), tarchetypes::tar_cue_force(), or similar. It is a collection of decision rules that decide when a target is invalidated/outdated (e.g. when tar_make() or similar reruns the target). You can supply these cue objects to the tar_target() function or similar. For example, tar_target(x, run_stuff(), cue = tar_cue(mode = "always")) is a target that always calls run_stuff() during tar_make() and always shows as invalidated/outdated in tar_outdated(), tar_visnetwork(), and similar functions.

See Also

Other cues: tar_age(), tar_cue_age(), tar_cue_force()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  library(tarchetypes)
  list(
    targets::tar_target(
      data,
      data.frame(x = seq_len(26)),
      cue = tarchetypes::tar_cue_skip(1 > 0)
    )
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
targets::tar_script({
  library(tarchetypes)
  list(
    targets::tar_target(
      data,
      data.frame(x = seq_len(25)), # Change the command.
      cue = tarchetypes::tar_cue_skip(1 > 0)
    )
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
targets::tar_make()
})
}

Target that downloads URLs.

Description

Create a target that downloads file from one or more URLs and automatically reruns when the remote data changes (according to the ETags or last-modified time stamps).

Usage

tar_download(
  name,
  urls,
  paths,
  method = NULL,
  quiet = TRUE,
  mode = "w",
  cacheOK = TRUE,
  extra = NULL,
  headers = NULL,
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

Arguments

name

Symbol, name of the target. In tar_target(), name is an unevaluated symbol, e.g. tar_target(name = data). In tar_target_raw(), name is a character string, e.g. tar_target_raw(name = "data").

A target name must be a valid name for a symbol in R, and it must not start with a dot. Subsequent targets can refer to this name symbolically to induce a dependency relationship: e.g. tar_target(downstream_target, f(upstream_target)) is a target named downstream_target which depends on a target upstream_target and a function f(). In addition, a target's name determines its random number generator seed. In this way, each target runs with a reproducible seed so someone else running the same pipeline should get the same results, and no two targets in the same pipeline share the same seed. (Even dynamic branches have different names and thus different seeds.) You can recover the seed of a completed target with tar_meta(your_target, seed) and run tar_seed_set() on the result to locally recreate the target's initial RNG state.

urls

Character vector of URLs to track and download. Must be known and declared before the pipeline runs.

paths

Character vector of local file paths to download each of the URLs. Must be known and declared before the pipeline runs.

method

Method to be used for downloading files. Current download methods are "internal", "libcurl", "wget", "curl" and "wininet" (Windows only), and there is a value "auto": see ‘Details’ and ‘Note’.

The method can also be set through the option "download.file.method": see options().

quiet

If TRUE, suppress status messages (if any), and the progress bar.

mode

character. The mode with which to write the file. Useful values are "w", "wb" (binary), "a" (append) and "ab". Not used for methods "wget" and "curl". See also ‘Details’, notably about using "wb" for Windows.

cacheOK

logical. Is a server-side cached value acceptable?

extra

character vector of additional command-line arguments for the "wget" and "curl" methods.

headers

named character vector of additional HTTP headers to use in HTTP[S] requests. It is ignored for non-HTTP[S] URLs. The User-Agent header taken from the HTTPUserAgent option (see options) is automatically used as the first header.

iteration

Character of length 1, name of the iteration mode of the target. Choices:

  • "vector": branching happens with vctrs::vec_slice() and aggregation happens with vctrs::vec_c().

  • "list", branching happens with ⁠[[]]⁠ and aggregation happens with list().

  • "group": dplyr::group_by()-like functionality to branch over subsets of a non-dynamic data frame. For iteration = "group", the target must not by dynamic (the pattern argument of tar_target() must be left NULL). The target's return value must be a data frame with a special tar_group column of consecutive integers from 1 through the number of groups. Each integer designates a group, and a branch is created for each collection of rows in a group. See the tar_group() function to see how you can create the special tar_group column with dplyr::group_by().

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

storage

Character string to control when the output of the target is saved to storage. Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's return value is sent back to the host machine and saved/uploaded locally.

  • "worker": the worker saves/uploads the value.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to save the result of the target to storage in the location where targets expects it to be. Saving to storage is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

Details

tar_download() creates a pair of targets, one upstream and one downstream. The upstream target uses format = "url" (see targets::tar_target()) to track files at one or more URLs, and automatically invalidate the target if the ETags or last-modified time stamps change. The downstream target depends on the upstream one, downloads the files, and tracks them using format = "file".

Value

A list of two target objects, one upstream and one downstream. The upstream one watches a URL for changes, and the downstream one downloads it. See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other targets with custom invalidation rules: tar_change(), tar_force(), tar_skip()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  list(
    tarchetypes::tar_download(
      x,
      urls = c("https://httpbin.org/etag/test", "https://r-project.org"),
      paths = c("downloaded_file_1", "downloaded_file_2")
    )
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
targets::tar_read(x)
})
}

Evaluate multiple expressions created with symbol substitution.

Description

Loop over a grid of values, create an expression object from each one, and then evaluate that expression. Helps with general metaprogramming.

tar_eval() expects an unevaluated expression for the expr object, whereas tar_eval_raw() expects an evaluated expression object.

Usage

tar_eval(expr, values, envir = parent.frame())

tar_eval_raw(expr, values, envir = parent.frame())

Arguments

expr

Starting expression. Values are iteratively substituted in place of symbols in expr to create each new expression, and then each new expression is evaluated.

tar_eval() expects an unevaluated expression for the expr object, whereas tar_eval_raw() expects an evaluated expression object.

values

List of values to substitute into expr to create the expressions. All elements of values must have the same length.

envir

Environment in which to evaluate the new expressions.

Value

A list of return values from the generated expression objects. Often, these values are target objects. See the "Target objects" section for background on target objects specifically.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other Metaprogramming utilities: tar_sub()

Examples

# tar_map() is incompatible with tar_render() because the latter
# operates on preexisting tar_target() objects. By contrast,
# tar_eval() and tar_sub() iterate over the literal code
# farther upstream.
values <- list(
  name = lapply(c("name1", "name2"), as.symbol),
  file = list("file1.Rmd", "file2.Rmd")
)
tar_sub(list(name, file), values = values)
tar_sub(tar_render(name, file), values = values)
path <- tempfile()
file.create(path)
str(tar_eval(tar_render(name, path), values = values))
str(tar_eval_raw(quote(tar_render(name, path)), values = values))
# So in your _targets.R file, you can define a pipeline like as below.
# Just make sure to set a unique name for each target
# (which tar_map() does automatically).
values <- list(
  name = lapply(c("name1", "name2"), as.symbol),
  file = c(path, path)
)
list(
  tar_eval(tar_render(name, file), values = values)
)

Track a file and read the contents.

Description

Create a pair of targets: one to track a file with format = "file", and another to read the file.

Usage

tar_file_read(
  name,
  command,
  read,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  format_file = c("file", "file_fast"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

Arguments

name

Symbol, name of the target. In tar_target(), name is an unevaluated symbol, e.g. tar_target(name = data). In tar_target_raw(), name is a character string, e.g. tar_target_raw(name = "data").

A target name must be a valid name for a symbol in R, and it must not start with a dot. Subsequent targets can refer to this name symbolically to induce a dependency relationship: e.g. tar_target(downstream_target, f(upstream_target)) is a target named downstream_target which depends on a target upstream_target and a function f(). In addition, a target's name determines its random number generator seed. In this way, each target runs with a reproducible seed so someone else running the same pipeline should get the same results, and no two targets in the same pipeline share the same seed. (Even dynamic branches have different names and thus different seeds.) You can recover the seed of a completed target with tar_meta(your_target, seed) and run tar_seed_set() on the result to locally recreate the target's initial RNG state.

command

R code that runs in the format = "file" target and returns the file to be tracked.

read

R code to read the file. Must include !!.x where the file path goes: for example, read = readr::read_csv(file = !!.x, col_types = readr::cols()).

tidy_eval

Logical, whether to enable tidy evaluation when interpreting command and pattern. If TRUE, you can use the "bang-bang" operator ⁠!!⁠ to programmatically insert the values of global objects.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

format

Optional storage format for the target's return value. With the exception of format = "file", each target gets a file in ⁠_targets/objects⁠, and each format is a different way to save and load this file. See the "Storage formats" section for a detailed list of possible data storage formats.

format_file

Storage format of the file target, either "file" or "file_fast".

repository

Character of length 1, remote repository for target storage. Choices:

Note: if repository is not "local" and format is "file" then the target should create a single output file. That output file is uploaded to the cloud and tracked for changes where it exists in the cloud. The local file is deleted after the target runs.

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

storage

Character string to control when the output of the target is saved to storage. Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's return value is sent back to the host machine and saved/uploaded locally.

  • "worker": the worker saves/uploads the value.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to save the result of the target to storage in the location where targets expects it to be. Saving to storage is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

Value

A list of two new target objects to track a file and read the contents. See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  tar_file_read(data, get_path(), read_csv(file = !!.x, col_types = cols()))
})
targets::tar_manifest()
})
}

Dynamic branching over output or input files.

Description

Dynamic branching over output or input files. tar_files() expects a unevaluated symbol for the name argument and an unevaluated expression for command, whereas tar_files_raw() expects a character string for the name argument and an evaluated expression object for command. See the examples for a demo.

Usage

tar_files(
  name,
  command,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = c("file", "file_fast", "url", "aws_file"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_files_raw(
  name,
  command,
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = c("file", "url", "aws_file", "file_fast"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

Arguments

name

Name of the target. tar_files() expects a unevaluated symbol for the name argument and an unevaluated expression for command, whereas tar_files_raw() expects a character string for the name argument and an evaluated expression object for command. See the examples for a demo.

command

R command for the target. tar_files() expects a unevaluated symbol for the name argument and an unevaluated expression for command, whereas tar_files_raw() expects a character string for the name argument and an evaluated expression object for command. See the examples for a demo.

tidy_eval

Logical, whether to enable tidy evaluation when interpreting command and pattern. If TRUE, you can use the "bang-bang" operator ⁠!!⁠ to programmatically insert the values of global objects.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

format

Character of length 1. Must be "file", "url", or "aws_file". See the format argument of targets::tar_target() for details.

repository

Character of length 1, remote repository for target storage. Choices:

Note: if repository is not "local" and format is "file" then the target should create a single output file. That output file is uploaded to the cloud and tracked for changes where it exists in the cloud. The local file is deleted after the target runs.

iteration

Character of length 1, name of the iteration mode of the target. Choices:

  • "vector": branching happens with vctrs::vec_slice() and aggregation happens with vctrs::vec_c().

  • "list", branching happens with ⁠[[]]⁠ and aggregation happens with list().

  • "group": dplyr::group_by()-like functionality to branch over subsets of a non-dynamic data frame. For iteration = "group", the target must not by dynamic (the pattern argument of tar_target() must be left NULL). The target's return value must be a data frame with a special tar_group column of consecutive integers from 1 through the number of groups. Each integer designates a group, and a branch is created for each collection of rows in a group. See the tar_group() function to see how you can create the special tar_group column with dplyr::group_by().

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

storage

Character string to control when the output of the target is saved to storage. Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's return value is sent back to the host machine and saved/uploaded locally.

  • "worker": the worker saves/uploads the value.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to save the result of the target to storage in the location where targets expects it to be. Saving to storage is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date. Only applies to the downstream target. The upstream target always runs.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

Details

tar_files() creates a pair of targets, one upstream and one downstream. The upstream target does some work and returns some file paths, and the downstream target is a pattern that applies format = "file" or format = "url". (URLs are input-only, they must already exist beforehand.) This is the correct way to dynamically iterate over file/url targets. It makes sure any downstream patterns only rerun some of their branches if the files/urls change. For more information, visit https://github.com/ropensci/targets/issues/136 and https://github.com/ropensci/drake/issues/1302.

Value

A list of two targets, one upstream and one downstream. The upstream one does some work and returns some file paths, and the downstream target is a pattern that applies format = "file" or format = "url". See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other Dynamic branching over files: tar_files_input()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  library(tarchetypes)
  # Do not use temp files in real projects
  # or else your targets will always rerun.
  paths <- unlist(replicate(2, tempfile()))
  file.create(paths)
  list(
    tar_files(name = x, command = paths),
    tar_files_raw(name = "y", command = quote(paths))
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
targets::tar_read(x)
})
}

Dynamic branching over input files or URLs

Description

Dynamic branching over input files or URLs.

tar_files_input() expects a unevaluated symbol for the name argument, whereas tar_files_input_raw() expects a character string for name. See the examples for a demo.

Usage

tar_files_input(
  name,
  files,
  batches = length(files),
  format = c("file", "file_fast", "url", "aws_file"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_files_input_raw(
  name,
  files,
  batches = length(files),
  format = c("file", "file_fast", "url", "aws_file"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

Arguments

name

Name of the target. tar_files_input() expects a unevaluated symbol for the name argument, whereas tar_files_input_raw() expects a character string for name. See the examples for a demo.

files

Nonempty character vector of known existing input files to track for changes.

batches

Positive integer of length 1, number of batches to partition the files. The default is one file per batch (maximum number of batches) which is simplest to handle but could cause a lot of overhead and consume a lot of computing resources. Consider reducing the number of batches below the number of files for heavy workloads.

format

Character, either "file", "file_fast", or "url". See the format argument of targets::tar_target() for details.

repository

Character of length 1, remote repository for target storage. Choices:

Note: if repository is not "local" and format is "file" then the target should create a single output file. That output file is uploaded to the cloud and tracked for changes where it exists in the cloud. The local file is deleted after the target runs.

iteration

Character, iteration method. Must be a method supported by the iteration argument of targets::tar_target(). The iteration method for the upstream target is always "list" in order to support batching.

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date. Only applies to the downstream target. The upstream target always runs.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

Details

tar_files_input() is like tar_files() but more convenient when the files in question already exist and are known in advance. Whereas tar_files() always appears outdated (e.g. with tar_outdated()) because it always needs to check which files it needs to branch over, tar_files_input() will appear up to date if the files have not changed since last tar_make(). In addition, tar_files_input() automatically groups input files into batches to reduce overhead and increase the efficiency of parallel processing.

tar_files_input() creates a pair of targets, one upstream and one downstream. The upstream target does some work and returns some file paths, and the downstream target is a pattern that applies format = "file", format = "file_fast", or format = "url". This is the correct way to dynamically iterate over file/url targets. It makes sure any downstream patterns only rerun some of their branches if the files/urls change. For more information, visit https://github.com/ropensci/targets/issues/136 and https://github.com/ropensci/drake/issues/1302.

Value

A list of two targets, one upstream and one downstream. The upstream one does some work and returns some file paths, and the downstream target is a pattern that applies format = "file" or format = "url". See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other Dynamic branching over files: tar_files()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  library(tarchetypes)
  # Do not use temp files in real projects
  # or else your targets will always rerun.
  paths <- unlist(replicate(4, tempfile()))
  file.create(paths)
  list(
    tar_files_input(
      name = x,
      files = paths,
      batches = 2
    ),
    tar_files_input_raw(
      name = "y",
      files = paths,
      batches = 2
    )
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
targets::tar_read(x)
targets::tar_read(x, branches = 1)
})
}

Target with a custom condition to force execution.

Description

Create a target that always runs if a user-defined condition rule is met.

Usage

tar_force(
  name,
  command,
  force,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

Arguments

name

Symbol, name of the target. In tar_target(), name is an unevaluated symbol, e.g. tar_target(name = data). In tar_target_raw(), name is a character string, e.g. tar_target_raw(name = "data").

A target name must be a valid name for a symbol in R, and it must not start with a dot. Subsequent targets can refer to this name symbolically to induce a dependency relationship: e.g. tar_target(downstream_target, f(upstream_target)) is a target named downstream_target which depends on a target upstream_target and a function f(). In addition, a target's name determines its random number generator seed. In this way, each target runs with a reproducible seed so someone else running the same pipeline should get the same results, and no two targets in the same pipeline share the same seed. (Even dynamic branches have different names and thus different seeds.) You can recover the seed of a completed target with tar_meta(your_target, seed) and run tar_seed_set() on the result to locally recreate the target's initial RNG state.

command

R code to run the target. In tar_target(), command is an unevaluated expression, e.g. tar_target(command = data). In tar_target_raw(), command is an evaluated expression, e.g. tar_target_raw(command = quote(data)).

force

R code for the condition that forces a build. If it evaluates to TRUE, then your work will run during tar_make().

tidy_eval

Whether to invoke tidy evaluation (e.g. the ⁠!!⁠ operator from rlang) as soon as the target is defined (before tar_make()). Applies to arguments command and force.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

format

Optional storage format for the target's return value. With the exception of format = "file", each target gets a file in ⁠_targets/objects⁠, and each format is a different way to save and load this file. See the "Storage formats" section for a detailed list of possible data storage formats.

repository

Character of length 1, remote repository for target storage. Choices:

Note: if repository is not "local" and format is "file" then the target should create a single output file. That output file is uploaded to the cloud and tracked for changes where it exists in the cloud. The local file is deleted after the target runs.

iteration

Character of length 1, name of the iteration mode of the target. Choices:

  • "vector": branching happens with vctrs::vec_slice() and aggregation happens with vctrs::vec_c().

  • "list", branching happens with ⁠[[]]⁠ and aggregation happens with list().

  • "group": dplyr::group_by()-like functionality to branch over subsets of a non-dynamic data frame. For iteration = "group", the target must not by dynamic (the pattern argument of tar_target() must be left NULL). The target's return value must be a data frame with a special tar_group column of consecutive integers from 1 through the number of groups. Each integer designates a group, and a branch is created for each collection of rows in a group. See the tar_group() function to see how you can create the special tar_group column with dplyr::group_by().

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

storage

Character string to control when the output of the target is saved to storage. Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's return value is sent back to the host machine and saved/uploaded locally.

  • "worker": the worker saves/uploads the value.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to save the result of the target to storage in the location where targets expects it to be. Saving to storage is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date. Only applies to the downstream target. The upstream target always runs.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

Details

tar_force() creates a target that always runs when a custom condition is met. The implementation builds on top of tar_change(). Thus, a pair of targets is created: an upstream auxiliary target to indicate the custom condition and a downstream target that responds to it and does your work.

tar_force() does not actually use tar_cue_force(), and the mechanism is totally different. Because the upstream target always runs, tar_outdated() and tar_visnetwork() will always show both targets as outdated. However, tar_make() will still skip the downstream one if the upstream custom condition is not met.

Value

A list of 2 targets objects: one to indicate whether the custom condition is met, and another to respond to it and do your actual work. See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other targets with custom invalidation rules: tar_change(), tar_download(), tar_skip()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  list(
    tarchetypes::tar_force(x, tempfile(), force = 1 > 0)
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
targets::tar_make()
})
}

Nanoparquet format

Description

Nanoparquet storage format for data frames. Uses nanoparquet::read_parquet() and nanoparquet::write_parquet() to read and write data frames returned by targets in a pipeline. Note: attributes such as dplyr row groupings and posterior draws info are dropped during the writing process.

Usage

tar_format_nanoparquet(compression = "snappy", class = "tbl")

Arguments

compression

Character string, compression type for saving the data. See the compression argument of nanoparquet::write_parquet() for details.

class

Character vector with the data frame subclasses to assign. See the class argument of nanoparquet::parquet_options() for details.

Value

A targets::tar_format() storage format specification string that can be directly supplied to the format argument of targets::tar_target() or targets::tar_option_set().

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  library(targets)
  libary(tarchetypes)
  list(
    tar_target(
      name = data,
      command = data.frame(x = 1),
      format = tar_format_nanoparquet()
    )
  )
})
tar_make()
tar_read(data)
})
}

Target factories for storage formats

Description

Target factories for targets with specialized storage formats. For example, tar_qs(name = data, command = get_data()) is shorthand for tar_target(name = data, command = get_data(), format = "qs").

Most of the formats are shorthand for built-in formats in targets. The only exception currently is the nanoparquet format: tar_nanoparquet(data, get_data()) is shorthand for ⁠tar_target(data get_data(), format = tar_format_nanoparquet())⁠, where tar_format_nanoparquet() resides in tarchetypes.

tar_format_feather() is superseded in favor of tar_arrow_feather(), and all the ⁠tar_aws_*()⁠ functions are superseded because of the introduction of the aws argument into targets::tar_target().

Usage

tar_url(
  name,
  command,
  pattern = NULL,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_file(
  name,
  command,
  pattern = NULL,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_file_fast(
  name,
  command,
  pattern = NULL,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_rds(
  name,
  command,
  pattern = NULL,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_qs(
  name,
  command,
  pattern = NULL,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_keras(
  name,
  command,
  pattern = NULL,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_torch(
  name,
  command,
  pattern = NULL,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_arrow_feather(
  name,
  command,
  pattern = NULL,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_parquet(
  name,
  command,
  pattern = NULL,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_fst(
  name,
  command,
  pattern = NULL,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_fst_dt(
  name,
  command,
  pattern = NULL,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_fst_tbl(
  name,
  command,
  pattern = NULL,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_nanoparquet(
  name,
  command,
  pattern = NULL,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description"),
  compression = "snappy",
  class = "tbl"
)

Arguments

name

Symbol, name of the target. In tar_target(), name is an unevaluated symbol, e.g. tar_target(name = data). In tar_target_raw(), name is a character string, e.g. tar_target_raw(name = "data").

A target name must be a valid name for a symbol in R, and it must not start with a dot. Subsequent targets can refer to this name symbolically to induce a dependency relationship: e.g. tar_target(downstream_target, f(upstream_target)) is a target named downstream_target which depends on a target upstream_target and a function f(). In addition, a target's name determines its random number generator seed. In this way, each target runs with a reproducible seed so someone else running the same pipeline should get the same results, and no two targets in the same pipeline share the same seed. (Even dynamic branches have different names and thus different seeds.) You can recover the seed of a completed target with tar_meta(your_target, seed) and run tar_seed_set() on the result to locally recreate the target's initial RNG state.

command

R code to run the target. In tar_target(), command is an unevaluated expression, e.g. tar_target(command = data). In tar_target_raw(), command is an evaluated expression, e.g. tar_target_raw(command = quote(data)).

pattern

Code to define a dynamic branching branching for a target. In tar_target(), pattern is an unevaluated expression, e.g. tar_target(pattern = map(data)). In tar_target_raw(), command is an evaluated expression, e.g. tar_target_raw(pattern = quote(map(data))).

To demonstrate dynamic branching patterns, suppose we have a pipeline with numeric vector targets x and y. Then, tar_target(z, x + y, pattern = map(x, y)) implicitly defines branches of z that each compute x[1] + y[1], x[2] + y[2], and so on. See the user manual for details.

tidy_eval

Logical, whether to enable tidy evaluation when interpreting command and pattern. If TRUE, you can use the "bang-bang" operator ⁠!!⁠ to programmatically insert the values of global objects.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

repository

Character of length 1, remote repository for target storage. Choices:

Note: if repository is not "local" and format is "file" then the target should create a single output file. That output file is uploaded to the cloud and tracked for changes where it exists in the cloud. The local file is deleted after the target runs.

iteration

Character of length 1, name of the iteration mode of the target. Choices:

  • "vector": branching happens with vctrs::vec_slice() and aggregation happens with vctrs::vec_c().

  • "list", branching happens with ⁠[[]]⁠ and aggregation happens with list().

  • "group": dplyr::group_by()-like functionality to branch over subsets of a non-dynamic data frame. For iteration = "group", the target must not by dynamic (the pattern argument of tar_target() must be left NULL). The target's return value must be a data frame with a special tar_group column of consecutive integers from 1 through the number of groups. Each integer designates a group, and a branch is created for each collection of rows in a group. See the tar_group() function to see how you can create the special tar_group column with dplyr::group_by().

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

storage

Character string to control when the output of the target is saved to storage. Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's return value is sent back to the host machine and saved/uploaded locally.

  • "worker": the worker saves/uploads the value.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to save the result of the target to storage in the location where targets expects it to be. Saving to storage is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

compression

Character string, compression type for saving the data. See the compression argument of nanoparquet::write_parquet() for details.

class

Character vector with the data frame subclasses to assign. See the class argument of nanoparquet::parquet_options() for details.

Details

These functions are shorthand for targets with specialized storage formats. For example, tar_qs(name, fun()) is equivalent to tar_target(name, fun(), format = "qs"). For details on specialized storage formats, open the help file of the targets::tar_target() function and read about the format argument.

Value

A tar_target() object with the eponymous storage format. See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  library(targets)
  library(tarchetypes)
  list(
    tar_rds(name = x, command = 1),
    tar_nanoparquet(name = y, command = data.frame(x = x))
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
})
}

Group a data frame target by one or more variables.

Description

Create a target that outputs a grouped data frame with dplyr::group_by() and targets::tar_group(). Downstream dynamic branching targets will iterate over the groups of rows.

Usage

tar_group_by(
  name,
  command,
  ...,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

Arguments

name

Symbol, name of the target. In tar_target(), name is an unevaluated symbol, e.g. tar_target(name = data). In tar_target_raw(), name is a character string, e.g. tar_target_raw(name = "data").

A target name must be a valid name for a symbol in R, and it must not start with a dot. Subsequent targets can refer to this name symbolically to induce a dependency relationship: e.g. tar_target(downstream_target, f(upstream_target)) is a target named downstream_target which depends on a target upstream_target and a function f(). In addition, a target's name determines its random number generator seed. In this way, each target runs with a reproducible seed so someone else running the same pipeline should get the same results, and no two targets in the same pipeline share the same seed. (Even dynamic branches have different names and thus different seeds.) You can recover the seed of a completed target with tar_meta(your_target, seed) and run tar_seed_set() on the result to locally recreate the target's initial RNG state.

command

R code to run the target. In tar_target(), command is an unevaluated expression, e.g. tar_target(command = data). In tar_target_raw(), command is an evaluated expression, e.g. tar_target_raw(command = quote(data)).

...

Symbols, variables in the output data frame to group by.

tidy_eval

Logical, whether to enable tidy evaluation when interpreting command and pattern. If TRUE, you can use the "bang-bang" operator ⁠!!⁠ to programmatically insert the values of global objects.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

format

Optional storage format for the target's return value. With the exception of format = "file", each target gets a file in ⁠_targets/objects⁠, and each format is a different way to save and load this file. See the "Storage formats" section for a detailed list of possible data storage formats.

repository

Character of length 1, remote repository for target storage. Choices:

Note: if repository is not "local" and format is "file" then the target should create a single output file. That output file is uploaded to the cloud and tracked for changes where it exists in the cloud. The local file is deleted after the target runs.

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

storage

Character string to control when the output of the target is saved to storage. Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's return value is sent back to the host machine and saved/uploaded locally.

  • "worker": the worker saves/uploads the value.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to save the result of the target to storage in the location where targets expects it to be. Saving to storage is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

Value

A target object to generate a grouped data frame to allows downstream dynamic targets to branch over the groups of rows. See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other Grouped data frame targets: tar_group_count(), tar_group_select(), tar_group_size()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  produce_data <- function() {
    expand.grid(var1 = c("a", "b"), var2 = c("c", "d"), rep = c(1, 2, 3))
  }
  list(
    tarchetypes::tar_group_by(data, produce_data(), var1, var2),
    tar_target(group, data, pattern = map(data))
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
# Read the first row group:
targets::tar_read(group, branches = 1)
# Read the second row group:
targets::tar_read(group, branches = 2)
})
}

Group the rows of a data frame into a given number groups

Description

Create a target that outputs a grouped data frame for downstream dynamic branching. Set the maximum number of groups using count. The number of rows per group varies but is approximately uniform.

Usage

tar_group_count(
  name,
  command,
  count,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

Arguments

name

Symbol, name of the target. In tar_target(), name is an unevaluated symbol, e.g. tar_target(name = data). In tar_target_raw(), name is a character string, e.g. tar_target_raw(name = "data").

A target name must be a valid name for a symbol in R, and it must not start with a dot. Subsequent targets can refer to this name symbolically to induce a dependency relationship: e.g. tar_target(downstream_target, f(upstream_target)) is a target named downstream_target which depends on a target upstream_target and a function f(). In addition, a target's name determines its random number generator seed. In this way, each target runs with a reproducible seed so someone else running the same pipeline should get the same results, and no two targets in the same pipeline share the same seed. (Even dynamic branches have different names and thus different seeds.) You can recover the seed of a completed target with tar_meta(your_target, seed) and run tar_seed_set() on the result to locally recreate the target's initial RNG state.

command

R code to run the target. In tar_target(), command is an unevaluated expression, e.g. tar_target(command = data). In tar_target_raw(), command is an evaluated expression, e.g. tar_target_raw(command = quote(data)).

count

Positive integer, maximum number of row groups

tidy_eval

Logical, whether to enable tidy evaluation when interpreting command and pattern. If TRUE, you can use the "bang-bang" operator ⁠!!⁠ to programmatically insert the values of global objects.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

format

Optional storage format for the target's return value. With the exception of format = "file", each target gets a file in ⁠_targets/objects⁠, and each format is a different way to save and load this file. See the "Storage formats" section for a detailed list of possible data storage formats.

repository

Character of length 1, remote repository for target storage. Choices:

Note: if repository is not "local" and format is "file" then the target should create a single output file. That output file is uploaded to the cloud and tracked for changes where it exists in the cloud. The local file is deleted after the target runs.

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

storage

Character string to control when the output of the target is saved to storage. Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's return value is sent back to the host machine and saved/uploaded locally.

  • "worker": the worker saves/uploads the value.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to save the result of the target to storage in the location where targets expects it to be. Saving to storage is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

Value

A target object to generate a grouped data frame to allows downstream dynamic targets to branch over the groups of rows. See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other Grouped data frame targets: tar_group_by(), tar_group_select(), tar_group_size()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  produce_data <- function() {
    expand.grid(var1 = c("a", "b"), var2 = c("c", "d"), rep = c(1, 2, 3))
  }
  list(
    tarchetypes::tar_group_count(data, produce_data(), count = 2),
    tar_target(group, data, pattern = map(data))
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
# Read the first row group:
targets::tar_read(group, branches = 1)
# Read the second row group:
targets::tar_read(group, branches = 2)
})
}

Group a data frame target with tidyselect semantics.

Description

Create a target that outputs a grouped data frame with dplyr::group_by() and targets::tar_group(). Unlike tar_group_by(), tar_group_select() expects you to select grouping variables using tidyselect semantics. Downstream dynamic branching targets will iterate over the groups of rows.

Usage

tar_group_select(
  name,
  command,
  by = NULL,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

Arguments

name

Symbol, name of the target. In tar_target(), name is an unevaluated symbol, e.g. tar_target(name = data). In tar_target_raw(), name is a character string, e.g. tar_target_raw(name = "data").

A target name must be a valid name for a symbol in R, and it must not start with a dot. Subsequent targets can refer to this name symbolically to induce a dependency relationship: e.g. tar_target(downstream_target, f(upstream_target)) is a target named downstream_target which depends on a target upstream_target and a function f(). In addition, a target's name determines its random number generator seed. In this way, each target runs with a reproducible seed so someone else running the same pipeline should get the same results, and no two targets in the same pipeline share the same seed. (Even dynamic branches have different names and thus different seeds.) You can recover the seed of a completed target with tar_meta(your_target, seed) and run tar_seed_set() on the result to locally recreate the target's initial RNG state.

command

R code to run the target. In tar_target(), command is an unevaluated expression, e.g. tar_target(command = data). In tar_target_raw(), command is an evaluated expression, e.g. tar_target_raw(command = quote(data)).

by

Tidyselect semantics to specify variables to group over. Alternatively, you can supply a character vector.

tidy_eval

Logical, whether to enable tidy evaluation when interpreting command and pattern. If TRUE, you can use the "bang-bang" operator ⁠!!⁠ to programmatically insert the values of global objects.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

format

Optional storage format for the target's return value. With the exception of format = "file", each target gets a file in ⁠_targets/objects⁠, and each format is a different way to save and load this file. See the "Storage formats" section for a detailed list of possible data storage formats.

repository

Character of length 1, remote repository for target storage. Choices:

Note: if repository is not "local" and format is "file" then the target should create a single output file. That output file is uploaded to the cloud and tracked for changes where it exists in the cloud. The local file is deleted after the target runs.

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

storage

Character string to control when the output of the target is saved to storage. Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's return value is sent back to the host machine and saved/uploaded locally.

  • "worker": the worker saves/uploads the value.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to save the result of the target to storage in the location where targets expects it to be. Saving to storage is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

Value

A target object to generate a grouped data frame to allows downstream dynamic targets to branch over the groups of rows. See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other Grouped data frame targets: tar_group_by(), tar_group_count(), tar_group_size()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  produce_data <- function() {
    expand.grid(var1 = c("a", "b"), var2 = c("c", "d"), rep = c(1, 2, 3))
  }
  list(
    tarchetypes::tar_group_select(data, produce_data(), starts_with("var")),
    tar_target(group, data, pattern = map(data))
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
# Read the first row group:
targets::tar_read(group, branches = 1)
# Read the second row group:
targets::tar_read(group, branches = 2)
})
}

Group the rows of a data frame into groups of a given size.

Description

Create a target that outputs a grouped data frame for downstream dynamic branching. Row groups have the number of rows you supply to size (plus the remainder in a group of its own, if applicable.) The total number of groups varies.

Usage

tar_group_size(
  name,
  command,
  size,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

Arguments

name

Symbol, name of the target. In tar_target(), name is an unevaluated symbol, e.g. tar_target(name = data). In tar_target_raw(), name is a character string, e.g. tar_target_raw(name = "data").

A target name must be a valid name for a symbol in R, and it must not start with a dot. Subsequent targets can refer to this name symbolically to induce a dependency relationship: e.g. tar_target(downstream_target, f(upstream_target)) is a target named downstream_target which depends on a target upstream_target and a function f(). In addition, a target's name determines its random number generator seed. In this way, each target runs with a reproducible seed so someone else running the same pipeline should get the same results, and no two targets in the same pipeline share the same seed. (Even dynamic branches have different names and thus different seeds.) You can recover the seed of a completed target with tar_meta(your_target, seed) and run tar_seed_set() on the result to locally recreate the target's initial RNG state.

command

R code to run the target. In tar_target(), command is an unevaluated expression, e.g. tar_target(command = data). In tar_target_raw(), command is an evaluated expression, e.g. tar_target_raw(command = quote(data)).

size

Positive integer, maximum number of rows in each group.

tidy_eval

Logical, whether to enable tidy evaluation when interpreting command and pattern. If TRUE, you can use the "bang-bang" operator ⁠!!⁠ to programmatically insert the values of global objects.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

format

Optional storage format for the target's return value. With the exception of format = "file", each target gets a file in ⁠_targets/objects⁠, and each format is a different way to save and load this file. See the "Storage formats" section for a detailed list of possible data storage formats.

repository

Character of length 1, remote repository for target storage. Choices:

Note: if repository is not "local" and format is "file" then the target should create a single output file. That output file is uploaded to the cloud and tracked for changes where it exists in the cloud. The local file is deleted after the target runs.

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

storage

Character string to control when the output of the target is saved to storage. Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's return value is sent back to the host machine and saved/uploaded locally.

  • "worker": the worker saves/uploads the value.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to save the result of the target to storage in the location where targets expects it to be. Saving to storage is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

Value

A target object to generate a grouped data frame to allows downstream dynamic targets to branch over the groups of rows. See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other Grouped data frame targets: tar_group_by(), tar_group_count(), tar_group_select()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  produce_data <- function() {
    expand.grid(var1 = c("a", "b"), var2 = c("c", "d"), rep = c(1, 2, 3))
  }
  list(
    tarchetypes::tar_group_size(data, produce_data(), size = 7),
    tar_target(group, data, pattern = map(data))
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
# Read the first row group:
targets::tar_read(group, branches = 1)
# Read the second row group:
targets::tar_read(group, branches = 2)
})
}

Hook to prepend code

Description

Prepend R code to the commands of multiple targets. tar_hook_before() expects unevaluated expressions for the hook and names arguments, whereas tar_hook_before_raw() expects evaluated expression objects.

Usage

tar_hook_before(
  targets,
  hook,
  names = NULL,
  set_deps = TRUE,
  envir = parent.frame()
)

tar_hook_before_raw(
  targets,
  hook,
  names = NULL,
  set_deps = TRUE,
  envir = parent.frame()
)

Arguments

targets

A list of target objects. The input target list can be arbitrarily nested, but it must consist entirely of target objects. In addition, the return value is a simple list where each element is a target object. All hook functions remove the nested structure of the input target list.

hook

R code to insert. tar_hook_before() expects unevaluated expressions for the hook and names arguments, whereas tar_hook_before_raw() expects evaluated expression objects.

names

Name of targets in the target list to apply the hook. Supplied using tidyselect helpers like starts_with(), as in names = starts_with("your_prefix_"). Set to NULL to include all targets supplied to the targets argument. Targets not included in names still remain in the target list, but they are not modified because the hook does not apply to them.

The regular hook functions expects unevaluated expressions for the hook and names arguments, whereas the "_raw" versions expect evaluated expression objects.

set_deps

Logical of length 1, whether to refresh the dependencies of each modified target by scanning the newly generated target commands for dependencies. If FALSE, then the target will keep the original set of dependencies it had before the hook. Set to NULL to include all targets supplied to the targets argument. TRUE is recommended for nearly all situations. Only use FALSE if you have a specialized use case and you know what you are doing.

envir

Optional environment to construct the quosure for the names argument to select names.

Value

A flattened list of target objects with the hooks applied. Even if the input target list had a nested structure, the return value is a simple list where each element is a target object. All hook functions remove the nested structure of the input target list.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other hooks: tar_hook_inner(), tar_hook_outer()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  targets <- list(
    # Nested target lists work with hooks.
    list(
      targets::tar_target(x1, task1()),
      targets::tar_target(x2, task2(x1))
    ),
    targets::tar_target(x3, task3(x2)),
    targets::tar_target(y1, task4(x3))
  )
  tarchetypes::tar_hook_before(
    targets = targets,
    hook = print("Running hook."),
    names = starts_with("x")
  )
})
targets::tar_manifest(fields = command)
})
# With tar_hook_before_raw():
targets::tar_script({
  targets <- list(
    # Nested target lists work with hooks.
    list(
      targets::tar_target(x1, task1()),
      targets::tar_target(x2, task2(x1))
    ),
    targets::tar_target(x3, task3(x2)),
    targets::tar_target(y1, task4(x3))
  )
  tarchetypes::tar_hook_before_raw(
    targets = targets,
    hook = quote(print("Running hook.")),
    names = quote(starts_with("x"))
  )
})
}

Hook to wrap dependencies

Description

In the command of each target, wrap each mention of each dependency target in an arbitrary R expression.

tar_hook_inner() expects unevaluated expressions for the hook and names arguments, whereas tar_hook_inner_raw() expects evaluated expression objects.

Usage

tar_hook_inner(
  targets,
  hook,
  names = NULL,
  names_wrap = NULL,
  set_deps = TRUE,
  envir = parent.frame()
)

tar_hook_inner_raw(
  targets,
  hook,
  names = NULL,
  names_wrap = NULL,
  set_deps = TRUE,
  envir = parent.frame()
)

Arguments

targets

A list of target objects. The input target list can be arbitrarily nested, but it must consist entirely of target objects. In addition, the return value is a simple list where each element is a target object. All hook functions remove the nested structure of the input target list.

hook

R code to wrap each target's command. The hook must contain the special placeholder symbol .x so tar_hook_inner() knows where to insert the code to wrap mentions of dependencies.

tar_hook_inner() expects unevaluated expressions for the hook and names arguments, whereas tar_hook_inner_raw() expects evaluated expression objects.

names

Name of targets in the target list to apply the hook. Supplied using tidyselect helpers like starts_with(), as in names = starts_with("your_prefix_"). Set to NULL to include all targets supplied to the targets argument. Targets not included in names still remain in the target list, but they are not modified because the hook does not apply to them.

The regular hook functions expects unevaluated expressions for the hook and names arguments, whereas the "_raw" versions expect evaluated expression objects.

names_wrap

Names of targets to wrap with the hook where they appear as dependencies in the commands of other targets. Use tidyselect helpers like starts_with(), as in names_wrap = starts_with("your_prefix_").

set_deps

Logical of length 1, whether to refresh the dependencies of each modified target by scanning the newly generated target commands for dependencies. If FALSE, then the target will keep the original set of dependencies it had before the hook. Set to NULL to include all targets supplied to the targets argument. TRUE is recommended for nearly all situations. Only use FALSE if you have a specialized use case and you know what you are doing.

envir

Optional environment to construct the quosure for the names argument to select names.

Details

The expression you supply to hook must contain the special placeholder symbol .x so tar_hook_inner() knows where to insert the original command of the target.

Value

A flattened list of target objects with the hooks applied. Even if the input target list had a nested structure, the return value is a simple list where each element is a target object. All hook functions remove the nested structure of the input target list.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other hooks: tar_hook_before(), tar_hook_outer()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  targets <- list(
    # Nested target lists work with hooks.
    list(
      targets::tar_target(x1, task1()),
      targets::tar_target(x2, task2(x1))
    ),
    targets::tar_target(x3, task3(x2, x1)),
    targets::tar_target(y1, task4(x3))
  )
  tarchetypes::tar_hook_inner(
    targets = targets,
    hook = fun(.x),
    names = starts_with("x")
  )
})
targets::tar_manifest(fields = command)
# With tar_hook_inner_raw():
targets::tar_script({
  targets <- list(
    # Nested target lists work with hooks.
    list(
      targets::tar_target(x1, task1()),
      targets::tar_target(x2, task2(x1))
    ),
    targets::tar_target(x3, task3(x2, x1)),
    targets::tar_target(y1, task4(x3))
  )
  tarchetypes::tar_hook_inner_raw(
    targets = targets,
    hook = quote(fun(.x)),
    names = quote(starts_with("x"))
  )
})
})
}

Hook to wrap commands

Description

Wrap the command of each target in an arbitrary R expression. tar_hook_outer() expects unevaluated expressions for the hook and names arguments, whereas tar_hook_outer_raw() expects evaluated expression objects.

Usage

tar_hook_outer(
  targets,
  hook,
  names = NULL,
  set_deps = TRUE,
  envir = parent.frame()
)

tar_hook_outer_raw(
  targets,
  hook,
  names = NULL,
  set_deps = TRUE,
  envir = parent.frame()
)

Arguments

targets

A list of target objects. The input target list can be arbitrarily nested, but it must consist entirely of target objects. In addition, the return value is a simple list where each element is a target object. All hook functions remove the nested structure of the input target list.

hook

R code to wrap each target's command. The hook must contain the special placeholder symbol .x so tar_hook_outer() knows where to insert the original command of the target.

tar_hook_outer() expects unevaluated expressions for the hook and names arguments, whereas tar_hook_outer_raw() expects evaluated expression objects.

names

Name of targets in the target list to apply the hook. Supplied using tidyselect helpers like starts_with(), as in names = starts_with("your_prefix_"). Set to NULL to include all targets supplied to the targets argument. Targets not included in names still remain in the target list, but they are not modified because the hook does not apply to them.

The regular hook functions expects unevaluated expressions for the hook and names arguments, whereas the "_raw" versions expect evaluated expression objects.

set_deps

Logical of length 1, whether to refresh the dependencies of each modified target by scanning the newly generated target commands for dependencies. If FALSE, then the target will keep the original set of dependencies it had before the hook. Set to NULL to include all targets supplied to the targets argument. TRUE is recommended for nearly all situations. Only use FALSE if you have a specialized use case and you know what you are doing.

envir

Optional environment to construct the quosure for the names argument to select names.

Details

The expression you supply to hook must contain the special placeholder symbol .x so tar_hook_outer() knows where to insert the original command of the target.

Value

A flattened list of target objects with the hooks applied. Even if the input target list had a nested structure, the return value is a simple list where each element is a target object. All hook functions remove the nested structure of the input target list.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other hooks: tar_hook_before(), tar_hook_inner()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  targets <- list(
    # Nested target lists work with hooks.
    list(
      targets::tar_target(x1, task1()),
      targets::tar_target(x2, task2(x1))
    ),
    targets::tar_target(x3, task3(x2)),
    targets::tar_target(y1, task4(x3))
  )
  tarchetypes::tar_hook_outer(
    targets = targets,
    hook = postprocess(.x, arg = "value"),
    names = starts_with("x")
  )
})
targets::tar_manifest(fields = command)
# Using tar_hook_outer_raw():
targets::tar_script({
  targets <- list(
    # Nested target lists work with hooks.
    list(
      targets::tar_target(x1, task1()),
      targets::tar_target(x2, task2(x1))
    ),
    targets::tar_target(x3, task3(x2)),
    targets::tar_target(y1, task4(x3))
  )
  tarchetypes::tar_hook_outer_raw(
    targets = targets,
    hook = quote(postprocess(.x, arg = "value")),
    names = quote(starts_with("x"))
  )
})
})
}

Target with a knitr document.

Description

Shorthand to include knitr document in a targets pipeline.

tar_knit() expects an unevaluated symbol for the name argument, and it supports named ... arguments for knitr::knit() arguments. tar_knit_raw() expects a character string for name and supports an evaluated expression object knit_arguments for knitr::knit() arguments.

Usage

tar_knit(
  name,
  path,
  output_file = NULL,
  working_directory = NULL,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = "main",
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description"),
  quiet = TRUE,
  ...
)

tar_knit_raw(
  name,
  path,
  output_file = NULL,
  working_directory = NULL,
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = "main",
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description"),
  quiet = TRUE,
  knit_arguments = quote(list())
)

Arguments

name

Name of the target. tar_knit() expects an unevaluated symbol for the name argument, whereas tar_knit_raw() expects a character string for name.

path

Character string, file path to the knitr source file. Must have length 1.

output_file

Character string, file path to the rendered output file.

working_directory

Optional character string, path to the working directory to temporarily set when running the report. The default is NULL, which runs the report from the current working directory at the time the pipeline is run. This default is recommended in the vast majority of cases. To use anything other than NULL, you must manually set the value of the store argument relative to the working directory in all calls to tar_read() and tar_load() in the report. Otherwise, these functions will not know where to find the data.

tidy_eval

Logical, whether to enable tidy evaluation when interpreting command and pattern. If TRUE, you can use the "bang-bang" operator ⁠!!⁠ to programmatically insert the values of global objects.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

quiet

Boolean; suppress the progress bar and messages?

...

Named arguments to knitr::knit(). These arguments are unevaluated when supplied to tar_knit(). They are only evaluated when the target actually runs in tar_make(), not when the target is defined.

knit_arguments

Optional language object with a list of named arguments to knitr::knit(). Cannot be an expression object. (Use quote(), not expression().) The reason for quoting is that these arguments may depend on upstream targets whose values are not available at the time the target is defined, and because tar_knit_raw() is the "raw" version of a function, we want to avoid all non-standard evaluation.

Details

tar_knit() is an alternative to tar_target() for knitr reports that depend on other targets. The knitr source should mention dependency targets with tar_load() and tar_read() in the active code chunks (which also allows you to knit the report outside the pipeline if the ⁠_targets/⁠ data store already exists). (Do not use tar_load_raw() or tar_read_raw() for this.) Then, tar_knit() defines a special kind of target. It 1. Finds all the tar_load()/tar_read() dependencies in the report and inserts them into the target's command. This enforces the proper dependency relationships. (Do not use tar_load_raw() or tar_read_raw() for this.) 2. Sets format = "file" (see tar_target()) so targets watches the files at the returned paths and reruns the report if those files change. 3. Configures the target's command to return both the output report files and the input source file. All these file paths are relative paths so the project stays portable. 4. Forces the report to run in the user's current working directory instead of the working directory of the report. 5. Sets convenient default options such as deployment = "main" in the target and quiet = TRUE in knitr::knit().

Value

A tar_target() object with format = "file". When this target runs, it returns a character vector of file paths. The first file paths are the output files (returned by knitr::knit()) and the knitr source file is last. But unlike knitr::knit(), all returned paths are relative paths to ensure portability (so that the project can be moved from one file system to another without invalidating the target). See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other Literate programming targets: tar_quarto(), tar_quarto_rep(), tar_render(), tar_render_rep()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  library(tarchetypes)
  # Ordinarily, you should create the report outside
  # tar_script() and avoid temporary files.
  lines <- c(
    "---",
    "title: report",
    "output_format: html_document",
    "---",
    "",
    "```{r}",
    "targets::tar_read(data)",
    "```"
  )
  path <- tempfile()
  writeLines(lines, path)
  list(
    tar_target(data, data.frame(x = seq_len(26), y = letters)),
    tar_knit(name = report, path = path),
    tar_knit_raw(name = "report2", path = path)
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
})
}

List literate programming dependencies.

Description

List the target dependencies of one or more literate programming reports (R Markdown or knitr).

Usage

tar_knitr_deps(path)

Arguments

path

Character vector, path to one or more R Markdown or knitr reports.

Value

Character vector of the names of targets that are dependencies of the knitr report.

See Also

Other Literate programming utilities: tar_knitr_deps_expr(), tar_quarto_files()

Examples

lines <- c(
  "---",
  "title: report",
  "output_format: html_document",
  "---",
  "",
  "```{r}",
  "targets::tar_load(data1)",
  "targets::tar_read(data2)",
  "```"
)
report <- tempfile()
writeLines(lines, report)
tar_knitr_deps(report)

Expression with literate programming dependencies.

Description

Construct an expression whose global variable dependencies are the target dependencies of one or more literate programming reports (R Markdown or knitr). This helps third-party developers create their own third-party target factories for literate programming targets (similar to tar_knit() and tar_render()).

Usage

tar_knitr_deps_expr(path)

Arguments

path

Character vector, path to one or more R Markdown or knitr reports.

Value

Expression object to name the dependency targets of the knitr report, which will be detected in the static code analysis of targets.

See Also

Other Literate programming utilities: tar_knitr_deps(), tar_quarto_files()

Examples

lines <- c(
  "---",
  "title: report",
  "output_format: html_document",
  "---",
  "",
  "```{r}",
  "targets::tar_load(data1)",
  "targets::tar_read(data2)",
  "```"
)
report <- tempfile()
writeLines(lines, report)
tar_knitr_deps_expr(report)

Static branching.

Description

Define multiple new targets based on existing target objects.

Usage

tar_map(
  values,
  ...,
  names = tidyselect::everything(),
  descriptions = tidyselect::everything(),
  unlist = FALSE,
  delimiter = "_"
)

Arguments

values

Named list or data frame with values to iterate over. The names are the names of symbols in the commands and pattern statements, and the elements are values that get substituted in place of those symbols. tar_map() uses these elements to create new R code, so they should be basic types, symbols, or R expressions. For objects even a little bit complicated, especially objects with attributes, it is not obvious how to convert the object into code that generates it. For complicated objects, consider using quote() when you define values, as shown at https://github.com/ropensci/tarchetypes/discussions/105.

...

One or more target objects or list of target objects. Lists can be arbitrarily nested, as in list().

names

Subset of names(values) used to generate the suffixes in the names of the new targets. The value of names should be a tidyselect expression such as a call to any_of() or starts_with().

descriptions

Names of a column in values to append to the custom description of each generated target. The value of descriptions should be a tidyselect expression such as a call to any_of() or starts_with().

unlist

Logical, whether to flatten the returned list of targets. If unlist = FALSE, the list is nested and sub-lists are named and grouped by the original input targets. If unlist = TRUE, the return value is a flat list of targets named by the new target names.

delimiter

Character of length 1, string to insert between other strings when creating names of targets.

Details

tar_map() creates collections of new targets by iterating over a list of arguments and substituting symbols into commands and pattern statements.

Value

A list of new target objects. If unlist is FALSE, the list is nested and sub-lists are named and grouped by the original input targets. If unlist = TRUE, the return value is a flat list of targets named by the new target names. See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other static branching: tar_combine()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  list(
    tarchetypes::tar_map(
      list(a = c(12, 34), b = c(45, 78)),
      targets::tar_target(x, a + b),
      targets::tar_target(y, x + a, pattern = map(x))
    )
  )
})
targets::tar_manifest()
})
}

Dynamic batched replication within static branches for data frames.

Description

Define targets for batched replication within static branches for data frames.

tar_map_rep() expects an unevaluated symbol for the name argument and an unevaluated expression for command, whereas tar_map_rep_raw() expects a character string for name and an evaluated expression object for command.

Usage

tar_map_rep(
  name,
  command,
  values = NULL,
  names = NULL,
  descriptions = tidyselect::everything(),
  columns = tidyselect::everything(),
  batches = 1,
  reps = 1,
  rep_workers = 1,
  combine = TRUE,
  delimiter = "_",
  unlist = FALSE,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_map_rep_raw(
  name,
  command,
  values = NULL,
  names = NULL,
  descriptions = quote(tidyselect::everything()),
  columns = quote(tidyselect::everything()),
  batches = 1,
  reps = 1,
  rep_workers = 1,
  combine = TRUE,
  delimiter = "_",
  unlist = FALSE,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

Arguments

name

Name of the target. tar_map_rep() expects an unevaluated symbol for the name argument, whereas tar_map_rep_raw() expects a character string for name.

command

R code for a single replicate. Must return a data frame when run. tar_map_rep() expects an unevaluated expression for command, whereas tar_map_rep_raw() expects an evaluated expression object for command.

values

Named list or data frame with values to iterate over. The names are the names of symbols in the commands and pattern statements, and the elements are values that get substituted in place of those symbols. tar_map() uses these elements to create new R code, so they should be basic types, symbols, or R expressions. For objects even a little bit complicated, especially objects with attributes, it is not obvious how to convert the object into code that generates it. For complicated objects, consider using quote() when you define values, as shown at https://github.com/ropensci/tarchetypes/discussions/105.

names

Subset of names(values) used to generate the suffixes in the names of the new targets. The value of names should be a tidyselect expression such as a call to any_of() or starts_with().

descriptions

Names of a column in values to append to the custom description of each generated target. The value of descriptions should be a tidyselect expression such as a call to any_of() or starts_with().

columns

A tidyselect expression to select which columns of values to append to the output. Columns already in the target output are not appended.

batches

Number of batches. This is also the number of dynamic branches created during tar_make().

reps

Number of replications in each batch. The total number of replications is batches * reps.

rep_workers

Positive integer of length 1, number of local R processes to use to run reps within batches in parallel. If 1, then reps are run sequentially within each batch. If greater than 1, then reps within batch are run in parallel using a PSOCK cluster.

combine

Logical of length 1, whether to statically combine all the results into a single target downstream.

delimiter

Character of length 1, string to insert between other strings when creating names of targets.

unlist

Logical, whether to flatten the returned list of targets. If unlist = FALSE, the list is nested and sub-lists are named and grouped by the original input targets. If unlist = TRUE, the return value is a flat list of targets named by the new target names.

tidy_eval

Whether to invoke tidy evaluation (e.g. the ⁠!!⁠ operator from rlang) as soon as the target is defined (before tar_make()). Applies to the command argument.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

format

Optional storage format for the target's return value. With the exception of format = "file", each target gets a file in ⁠_targets/objects⁠, and each format is a different way to save and load this file. See the "Storage formats" section for a detailed list of possible data storage formats.

repository

Character of length 1, remote repository for target storage. Choices:

Note: if repository is not "local" and format is "file" then the target should create a single output file. That output file is uploaded to the cloud and tracked for changes where it exists in the cloud. The local file is deleted after the target runs.

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

storage

Character string to control when the output of the target is saved to storage. Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's return value is sent back to the host machine and saved/uploaded locally.

  • "worker": the worker saves/uploads the value.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to save the result of the target to storage in the location where targets expects it to be. Saving to storage is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

Value

A list of new target objects. See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

Replicate-specific seeds

In ordinary pipelines, each target has its own unique deterministic pseudo-random number generator seed derived from its target name. In batched replicate, however, each batch is a target with multiple replicate within that batch. That is why tar_rep() and friends give each replicate its own unique seed. Each replicate-specific seed is created based on the dynamic parent target name, tar_option_get("seed") (for targets version 0.13.5.9000 and above), batch index, and rep-within-batch index. The seed is set just before the replicate runs. Replicate-specific seeds are invariant to batching structure. In other words, tar_rep(name = x, command = rnorm(1), batches = 100, reps = 1, ...) produces the same numerical output as tar_rep(name = x, command = rnorm(1), batches = 10, reps = 10, ...) (but with different batch names). Other target factories with this seed scheme are tar_rep2(), tar_map_rep(), tar_map2_count(), tar_map2_size(), and tar_render_rep(). For the ⁠tar_map2_*()⁠ functions, it is possible to manually supply your own seeds through the command1 argument and then invoke them in your custom code for command2 (set.seed(), withr::with_seed, or withr::local_seed()). For tar_render_rep(), custom seeds can be supplied to the params argument and then invoked in the individual R Markdown reports. Likewise with tar_quarto_rep() and the execute_params argument.

See Also

Other branching: tar_map2(), tar_map2_count(), tar_map2_size(), tar_rep(), tar_rep2(), tar_rep_map(), tar_rep_map_raw()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  library(tarchetypes)
  # Just a sketch of a Bayesian sensitivity analysis of hyperparameters:
  assess_hyperparameters <- function(sigma1, sigma2) {
    # data <- simulate_random_data() # user-defined function
    # run_model(data, sigma1, sigma2) # user-defined function
    # Mock output from the model:
    posterior_samples <- stats::rnorm(1000, 0, sigma1 + sigma2)
    tibble::tibble(
      posterior_median = median(posterior_samples),
      posterior_quantile_0.025 = quantile(posterior_samples, 0.025),
      posterior_quantile_0.975 = quantile(posterior_samples, 0.975)
    )
  }
  hyperparameters <- tibble::tibble(
    scenario = c("tight", "medium", "diffuse"),
    sigma1 = c(10, 50, 50),
    sigma2 = c(10, 5, 10)
  )
  list(
    tar_map_rep(
      name = sensitivity_analysis,
      command = assess_hyperparameters(sigma1, sigma2),
      values = hyperparameters,
      names = tidyselect::any_of("scenario"),
      batches = 2,
      reps = 3
    ),
    tar_map_rep_raw(
      name = "sensitivity_analysis2",
      command = quote(assess_hyperparameters(sigma1, sigma2)),
      values = hyperparameters,
      names = tidyselect::any_of("scenario"),
      batches = 2,
      reps = 3
    )
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
targets::tar_read(sensitivity_analysis)
})
}

Dynamic-within-static branching for data frames (count batching).

Description

Define targets for batched dynamic-within-static branching for data frames, where the user sets the (maximum) number of batches.

tar_map2_count() expects unevaluated language for arguments name, command1, command2, columns1, and columns2. tar_map2_count_raw() expects a character string for name and an evaluated expression object for each of command1, command2, columns1, and columns2.

Usage

tar_map2_count(
  name,
  command1,
  command2,
  values = NULL,
  names = NULL,
  descriptions = tidyselect::everything(),
  batches = 1L,
  combine = TRUE,
  suffix1 = "1",
  suffix2 = "2",
  columns1 = tidyselect::everything(),
  columns2 = tidyselect::everything(),
  rep_workers = 1,
  delimiter = "_",
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_map2_count_raw(
  name,
  command1,
  command2,
  values = NULL,
  names = NULL,
  descriptions = quote(tidyselect::everything()),
  batches = 1L,
  combine = TRUE,
  suffix1 = "1",
  suffix2 = "2",
  columns1 = quote(tidyselect::everything()),
  columns2 = quote(tidyselect::everything()),
  rep_workers = 1,
  delimiter = "_",
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

Arguments

name

Name of the target. tar_rep() expects unevaluated name and command arguments (e.g. tar_rep(name = sim, command = simulate())) whereas tar_rep_raw() expects an evaluated string for name and an evaluated expression object for command (e.g. tar_rep_raw(name = "sim", command = quote(simulate()))).

command1

R code to create named arguments to command2. Must return a data frame with one row per call to command2 when run.

In regular tarchetypes functions, the command1 argument is an unevaluated expression. In the "_raw" versions of functions, command1 is an evaluated expression object.

command2

R code to map over the data frame of arguments produced by command1. Must return a data frame.

In regular tarchetypes functions, the command2 argument is an unevaluated expression. In the "_raw" versions of functions, command2 is an evaluated expression object.

values

Named list or data frame with values to iterate over. The names are the names of symbols in the commands and pattern statements, and the elements are values that get substituted in place of those symbols. tar_map() uses these elements to create new R code, so they should be basic types, symbols, or R expressions. For objects even a little bit complicated, especially objects with attributes, it is not obvious how to convert the object into code that generates it. For complicated objects, consider using quote() when you define values, as shown at https://github.com/ropensci/tarchetypes/discussions/105.

names

Subset of names(values) used to generate the suffixes in the names of the new targets. The value of names should be a tidyselect expression such as a call to any_of() or starts_with().

descriptions

Names of a column in values to append to the custom description of each generated target. The value of descriptions should be a tidyselect expression such as a call to any_of() or starts_with().

batches

Positive integer of length 1, maximum number of batches (dynamic branches within static branches) of the downstream (command2) targets. Batches are formed from row groups of the command1 target output.

combine

Logical of length 1, whether to statically combine all the results into a single target downstream.

suffix1

Character of length 1, suffix to apply to the command1 targets to distinguish them from the command2 targets.

suffix2

Character of length 1, suffix to apply to the command2 targets to distinguish them from the command1 targets.

columns1

A tidyselect expression to select which columns of values to append to the output of all targets. Columns already in the target output are not appended.

In regular tarchetypes functions, the columns1 argument is an unevaluated expression. In the "_raw" versions of functions, columns1 is an evaluated expression object.

columns2

A tidyselect expression to select which columns of command1 output to append to command2 output. Columns already in the target output are not appended. columns1 takes precedence over columns2.

In regular tarchetypes functions, the columns2 argument is an unevaluated expression. In the "_raw" versions of functions, columns2 is an evaluated expression object.

rep_workers

Positive integer of length 1, number of local R processes to use to run reps within batches in parallel. If 1, then reps are run sequentially within each batch. If greater than 1, then reps within batch are run in parallel using a PSOCK cluster.

delimiter

Character of length 1, string to insert between other strings when creating names of targets.

tidy_eval

Whether to invoke tidy evaluation (e.g. the ⁠!!⁠ operator from rlang) as soon as the target is defined (before tar_make()). Applies to the command argument.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

format

Optional storage format for the target's return value. With the exception of format = "file", each target gets a file in ⁠_targets/objects⁠, and each format is a different way to save and load this file. See the "Storage formats" section for a detailed list of possible data storage formats.

repository

Character of length 1, remote repository for target storage. Choices:

Note: if repository is not "local" and format is "file" then the target should create a single output file. That output file is uploaded to the cloud and tracked for changes where it exists in the cloud. The local file is deleted after the target runs.

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

storage

Character string to control when the output of the target is saved to storage. Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's return value is sent back to the host machine and saved/uploaded locally.

  • "worker": the worker saves/uploads the value.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to save the result of the target to storage in the location where targets expects it to be. Saving to storage is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

Details

Static branching creates one pair of targets for each row in values. In each pair, there is an upstream non-dynamic target that runs command1 and a downstream dynamic target that runs command2. command1 produces a data frame of arguments to command2, and command2 dynamically maps over these arguments in batches.

Value

A list of new target objects. See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

Replicate-specific seeds

In ordinary pipelines, each target has its own unique deterministic pseudo-random number generator seed derived from its target name. In batched replicate, however, each batch is a target with multiple replicate within that batch. That is why tar_rep() and friends give each replicate its own unique seed. Each replicate-specific seed is created based on the dynamic parent target name, tar_option_get("seed") (for targets version 0.13.5.9000 and above), batch index, and rep-within-batch index. The seed is set just before the replicate runs. Replicate-specific seeds are invariant to batching structure. In other words, tar_rep(name = x, command = rnorm(1), batches = 100, reps = 1, ...) produces the same numerical output as tar_rep(name = x, command = rnorm(1), batches = 10, reps = 10, ...) (but with different batch names). Other target factories with this seed scheme are tar_rep2(), tar_map_rep(), tar_map2_count(), tar_map2_size(), and tar_render_rep(). For the ⁠tar_map2_*()⁠ functions, it is possible to manually supply your own seeds through the command1 argument and then invoke them in your custom code for command2 (set.seed(), withr::with_seed, or withr::local_seed()). For tar_render_rep(), custom seeds can be supplied to the params argument and then invoked in the individual R Markdown reports. Likewise with tar_quarto_rep() and the execute_params argument.

See Also

Other branching: tar_map2(), tar_map2_size(), tar_map_rep(), tar_rep(), tar_rep2(), tar_rep_map(), tar_rep_map_raw()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  tarchetypes::tar_map2_count(
    x,
    command1 = tibble::tibble(
      arg1 = arg1,
      arg2 = seq_len(6)
     ),
    command2 = tibble::tibble(
      result = paste(arg1, arg2),
      random = sample.int(1e9, size = 1),
      length_input = length(arg1)
    ),
    values = tibble::tibble(arg1 = letters[seq_len(2)]),
    batches = 3
   )
})
targets::tar_make()
targets::tar_read(x)
# With tar_map2_count_raw():
targets::tar_script({
  tarchetypes::tar_map2_count_raw(
    name = "x",
    command1 = quote(
      tibble::tibble(
        arg1 = arg1,
        arg2 = seq_len(6)
      )
    ),
    command2 = quote(
      tibble::tibble(
        result = paste(arg1, arg2),
        random = sample.int(1e9, size = 1),
        length_input = length(arg1)
      )
    ),
    values = tibble::tibble(arg1 = letters[seq_len(2)]),
    batches = 3
   )
})
})
}

Dynamic-within-static branching for data frames (size batching).

Description

Define targets for batched dynamic-within-static branching for data frames, where the user sets the (maximum) size of each batch.

tar_map2_size() expects unevaluated language for arguments name, command1, command2, columns1, and columns2. tar_map2_size_raw() expects a character string for name and an evaluated expression object for each of command1, command2, columns1, and columns2.

Usage

tar_map2_size(
  name,
  command1,
  command2,
  values = NULL,
  names = NULL,
  descriptions = tidyselect::everything(),
  size = Inf,
  combine = TRUE,
  suffix1 = "1",
  suffix2 = "2",
  columns1 = tidyselect::everything(),
  columns2 = tidyselect::everything(),
  rep_workers = 1,
  delimiter = "_",
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_map2_size_raw(
  name,
  command1,
  command2,
  values = NULL,
  names = NULL,
  descriptions = quote(tidyselect::everything()),
  size = Inf,
  combine = TRUE,
  suffix1 = "1",
  suffix2 = "2",
  columns1 = quote(tidyselect::everything()),
  columns2 = quote(tidyselect::everything()),
  rep_workers = 1,
  delimiter = "_",
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

Arguments

name

Name of the target. tar_rep() expects unevaluated name and command arguments (e.g. tar_rep(name = sim, command = simulate())) whereas tar_rep_raw() expects an evaluated string for name and an evaluated expression object for command (e.g. tar_rep_raw(name = "sim", command = quote(simulate()))).

command1

R code to create named arguments to command2. Must return a data frame with one row per call to command2 when run.

In regular tarchetypes functions, the command1 argument is an unevaluated expression. In the "_raw" versions of functions, command1 is an evaluated expression object.

command2

R code to map over the data frame of arguments produced by command1. Must return a data frame.

In regular tarchetypes functions, the command2 argument is an unevaluated expression. In the "_raw" versions of functions, command2 is an evaluated expression object.

values

Named list or data frame with values to iterate over. The names are the names of symbols in the commands and pattern statements, and the elements are values that get substituted in place of those symbols. tar_map() uses these elements to create new R code, so they should be basic types, symbols, or R expressions. For objects even a little bit complicated, especially objects with attributes, it is not obvious how to convert the object into code that generates it. For complicated objects, consider using quote() when you define values, as shown at https://github.com/ropensci/tarchetypes/discussions/105.

names

Subset of names(values) used to generate the suffixes in the names of the new targets. The value of names should be a tidyselect expression such as a call to any_of() or starts_with().

descriptions

Names of a column in values to append to the custom description of each generated target. The value of descriptions should be a tidyselect expression such as a call to any_of() or starts_with().

size

Positive integer of length 1, maximum number of rows in each batch for the downstream (command2) targets. Batches are formed from row groups of the command1 target output.

combine

Logical of length 1, whether to statically combine all the results into a single target downstream.

suffix1

Character of length 1, suffix to apply to the command1 targets to distinguish them from the command2 targets.

suffix2

Character of length 1, suffix to apply to the command2 targets to distinguish them from the command1 targets.

columns1

A tidyselect expression to select which columns of values to append to the output of all targets. Columns already in the target output are not appended.

In regular tarchetypes functions, the columns1 argument is an unevaluated expression. In the "_raw" versions of functions, columns1 is an evaluated expression object.

columns2

A tidyselect expression to select which columns of command1 output to append to command2 output. Columns already in the target output are not appended. columns1 takes precedence over columns2.

In regular tarchetypes functions, the columns2 argument is an unevaluated expression. In the "_raw" versions of functions, columns2 is an evaluated expression object.

rep_workers

Positive integer of length 1, number of local R processes to use to run reps within batches in parallel. If 1, then reps are run sequentially within each batch. If greater than 1, then reps within batch are run in parallel using a PSOCK cluster.

delimiter

Character of length 1, string to insert between other strings when creating names of targets.

tidy_eval

Whether to invoke tidy evaluation (e.g. the ⁠!!⁠ operator from rlang) as soon as the target is defined (before tar_make()). Applies to the command argument.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

format

Optional storage format for the target's return value. With the exception of format = "file", each target gets a file in ⁠_targets/objects⁠, and each format is a different way to save and load this file. See the "Storage formats" section for a detailed list of possible data storage formats.

repository

Character of length 1, remote repository for target storage. Choices:

Note: if repository is not "local" and format is "file" then the target should create a single output file. That output file is uploaded to the cloud and tracked for changes where it exists in the cloud. The local file is deleted after the target runs.

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

storage

Character string to control when the output of the target is saved to storage. Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's return value is sent back to the host machine and saved/uploaded locally.

  • "worker": the worker saves/uploads the value.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to save the result of the target to storage in the location where targets expects it to be. Saving to storage is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

Details

Static branching creates one pair of targets for each row in values. In each pair, there is an upstream non-dynamic target that runs command1 and a downstream dynamic target that runs command2. command1 produces a data frame of arguments to command2, and command2 dynamically maps over these arguments in batches.

Value

A list of new target objects. See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

Replicate-specific seeds

In ordinary pipelines, each target has its own unique deterministic pseudo-random number generator seed derived from its target name. In batched replicate, however, each batch is a target with multiple replicate within that batch. That is why tar_rep() and friends give each replicate its own unique seed. Each replicate-specific seed is created based on the dynamic parent target name, tar_option_get("seed") (for targets version 0.13.5.9000 and above), batch index, and rep-within-batch index. The seed is set just before the replicate runs. Replicate-specific seeds are invariant to batching structure. In other words, tar_rep(name = x, command = rnorm(1), batches = 100, reps = 1, ...) produces the same numerical output as tar_rep(name = x, command = rnorm(1), batches = 10, reps = 10, ...) (but with different batch names). Other target factories with this seed scheme are tar_rep2(), tar_map_rep(), tar_map2_count(), tar_map2_size(), and tar_render_rep(). For the ⁠tar_map2_*()⁠ functions, it is possible to manually supply your own seeds through the command1 argument and then invoke them in your custom code for command2 (set.seed(), withr::with_seed, or withr::local_seed()). For tar_render_rep(), custom seeds can be supplied to the params argument and then invoked in the individual R Markdown reports. Likewise with tar_quarto_rep() and the execute_params argument.

See Also

Other branching: tar_map2(), tar_map2_count(), tar_map_rep(), tar_rep(), tar_rep2(), tar_rep_map(), tar_rep_map_raw()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  tarchetypes::tar_map2_size(
    x,
    command1 = tibble::tibble(
      arg1 = arg1,
      arg2 = seq_len(6)
     ),
    command2 = tibble::tibble(
      result = paste(arg1, arg2),
      random = sample.int(1e9, size = 1),
      length_input = length(arg1)
    ),
    values = tibble::tibble(arg1 = letters[seq_len(2)]),
    size = 2
   )
})
targets::tar_make()
targets::tar_read(x)
# With tar_map2_size_raw():
targets::tar_script({
  tarchetypes::tar_map2_size_raw(
    name = "x",
    command1 = quote(
      tibble::tibble(
        arg1 = arg1,
        arg2 = seq_len(6)
      )
    ),
    command2 = quote(
      tibble::tibble(
        result = paste(arg1, arg2),
        random = sample.int(1e9, size = 1),
        length_input = length(arg1)
      )
    ),
    values = tibble::tibble(arg1 = letters[seq_len(2)]),
    size = 2
   )
})
})
}

A drake-plan-like pipeline DSL

Description

Simplify target specification in pipelines.

Usage

tar_plan(...)

Arguments

...

Named and unnamed targets. All named targets must follow the drake-plan-like target = command syntax, and all unnamed arguments must be explicit calls to create target objects, e.g. tar_target(), target factories like tar_render(), or similar.

Details

Allows targets with just targets and commands to be written in the pipeline as target = command instead of tar_target(target, command). Also supports ordinary target objects if they are unnamed. tar_plan(x = 1, y = 2, tar_target(z, 3), tar_render(r, "r.Rmd")) is equivalent to list(tar_target(x, 1), tar_target(y, 2), tar_target(z, 3), tar_render(r, "r.Rmd")). # nolint

Value

A list of tar_target() objects. See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  library(tarchetypes)
  tar_plan(
    tarchetypes::tar_fst_tbl(data, data.frame(x = seq_len(26))),
    means = colMeans(data) # No need for tar_target() for simple cases.
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
})
}

Target with a Quarto project.

Description

Shorthand to include a Quarto project in a targets pipeline.

tar_quarto() expects an unevaluated symbol for the name argument and an unevaluated expression for the exectue_params argument. tar_quarto_raw() expects a character string for the name argument and an evaluated expression object for the exectue_params argument.

Usage

tar_quarto(
  name,
  path = ".",
  output_file = NULL,
  working_directory = NULL,
  extra_files = character(0),
  execute = TRUE,
  execute_params = list(),
  cache = NULL,
  cache_refresh = FALSE,
  debug = FALSE,
  quiet = TRUE,
  quarto_args = NULL,
  pandoc_args = NULL,
  profile = NULL,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = NULL,
  library = NULL,
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = "main",
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_quarto_raw(
  name,
  path = ".",
  output_file = NULL,
  working_directory = NULL,
  extra_files = character(0),
  execute = TRUE,
  execute_params = NULL,
  cache = NULL,
  cache_refresh = FALSE,
  debug = FALSE,
  quiet = TRUE,
  quarto_args = NULL,
  pandoc_args = NULL,
  profile = NULL,
  packages = NULL,
  library = NULL,
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = "main",
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

Arguments

name

Name of the target. tar_quarto() expects an unevaluated symbol for the name argument, and tar_quarto_raw() expects a character string for name.

path

Character string, path to the Quarto source file if rendering a single file, or the path to the root of the project if rendering a whole Quarto project.

output_file

The name of the output file. If using NULL, the output filename will be based on the filename for the input file. output_file is mapped to the --output option flag of the quarto CLI. It is expected to be a filename only, not a path, relative or absolute.

working_directory

Optional character string, path to the working directory to temporarily set when running the report. The default is NULL, which runs the report from the current working directory at the time the pipeline is run. This default is recommended in the vast majority of cases. To use anything other than NULL, you must manually set the value of the store argument relative to the working directory in all calls to tar_read() and tar_load() in the report. Otherwise, these functions will not know where to find the data.

extra_files

Character vector of extra files and directories to track for changes. The target will be invalidated (rerun on the next tar_make()) if the contents of these files changes. No need to include anything already in the output of tar_quarto_files(), the list of file dependencies automatically detected through quarto::quarto_inspect().

execute

Whether to execute embedded code chunks.

execute_params

Named collection of parameters for parameterized Quarto documents. These parameters override the custom custom elements of the params list in the YAML front-matter of the Quarto source files.

tar_quarto() expects an unevaluated expression for the exectue_params argument, whereas tar_quarto_raw() expects an evaluated expression object.

cache

Cache execution output (uses knitr cache and jupyter-cache respectively for Rmd and Jupyter input files).

cache_refresh

Force refresh of execution cache.

debug

Leave intermediate files in place after render.

quiet

Suppress warning and other messages.

quarto_args

Character vector of other quarto CLI arguments to append to the Quarto command executed by this function. This is mainly intended for advanced usage and useful for CLI arguments which are not yet mirrored in a dedicated parameter of this R function. See ⁠quarto render --help⁠ for options.

pandoc_args

Additional command line arguments to pass on to Pandoc.

profile

Quarto project profile(s) to use. Either a character vector of profile names or NULL to use the default profile.

tidy_eval

Logical, whether to enable tidy evaluation when interpreting command and pattern. If TRUE, you can use the "bang-bang" operator ⁠!!⁠ to programmatically insert the values of global objects.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

Details

tar_quarto() is an alternative to tar_target() for Quarto projects and standalone Quarto source documents that depend on upstream targets. The Quarto R source documents (⁠*.qmd⁠ and ⁠*.Rmd⁠ files) should mention dependency targets with tar_load() and tar_read() in the active R code chunks (which also allows you to render the project outside the pipeline if the ⁠_targets/⁠ data store already exists). (Do not use tar_load_raw() or tar_read_raw() for this.) Then, tar_quarto() defines a special kind of target. It 1. Finds all the tar_load()/tar_read() dependencies in the R source reports and inserts them into the target's command. This enforces the proper dependency relationships. (Do not use tar_load_raw() or tar_read_raw() for this.) 2. Sets format = "file" (see tar_target()) so targets watches the files at the returned paths and reruns the report if those files change. 3. Configures the target's command to return both the output rendered files and the input dependency files (such as Quarto source documents). All these file paths are relative paths so the project stays portable. 4. Forces the report to run in the user's current working directory instead of the working directory of the report. 5. Sets convenient default options such as deployment = "main" in the target and quiet = TRUE in quarto::quarto_render().

Value

A target object with format = "file". When this target runs, it returns a character vector of file paths: the rendered documents, the Quarto source files, and other input and output files. The output files are determined by the YAML front-matter of standalone Quarto documents and ⁠_quarto.yml⁠ in Quarto projects, and you can see these files with tar_quarto_files() (powered by quarto::quarto_inspect()). All returned paths are relative paths to ensure portability (so that the project can be moved from one file system to another without invalidating the target). See the "Target objects" section for background.

Quarto troubleshooting

If you encounter difficult errors, please read https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto-r/issues/16. In addition, please try to reproduce the error using quarto::quarto_render("your_report.qmd", execute_dir = getwd()) without using targets at all. Isolating errors this way makes them much easier to solve.

Literate programming limitations

Literate programming files are messy and variable, so functions like tar_render() have limitations: * Child documents are not tracked for changes. * Upstream target dependencies are not detected if tar_read() and/or tar_load() are called from a user-defined function. In addition, single target names must be mentioned and they must be symbols. tar_load("x") and tar_load(contains("x")) may not detect target x. * Special/optional input/output files may not be detected in all cases. * tar_render() and friends are for local files only. They do not integrate with the cloud storage capabilities of targets.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other Literate programming targets: tar_knit(), tar_quarto_rep(), tar_render(), tar_render_rep()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({  # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
# Unparameterized Quarto document:
lines <- c(
  "---",
  "title: report.qmd source file",
  "output_format: html",
  "---",
  "Assume these lines are in report.qmd.",
  "```{r}",
  "targets::tar_read(data)",
  "```"
)
writeLines(lines, "report.qmd")
# Include the report in a pipeline as follows.
targets::tar_script({
  library(tarchetypes)
  list(
    tar_target(data, data.frame(x = seq_len(26), y = letters)),
    tar_quarto(name = report, path = "report.qmd")
  )
}, ask = FALSE)
# Then, run the pipeline as usual.

# Parameterized Quarto:
lines <- c(
  "---",
  "title: 'report.qmd source file with parameters'",
  "output_format: html_document",
  "params:",
  "  your_param: \"default value\"",
  "---",
  "Assume these lines are in report.qmd.",
  "```{r}",
  "print(params$your_param)",
  "```"
)
writeLines(lines, "report.qmd")
# Include the report in the pipeline as follows.
unlink("_targets.R") # In tar_dir(), not the user's file space.
targets::tar_script({
  library(tarchetypes)
  list(
    tar_target(data, data.frame(x = seq_len(26), y = letters)),
    tar_quarto(
      name = report,
      path = "report.qmd",
      execute_params = list(your_param = data)
    ),
    tar_quarto_raw(
      name = "report2",
      path = "report.qmd",
      execute_params = quote(list(your_param = data))
    )
  )
}, ask = FALSE)
})
# Then, run the pipeline as usual.
}

Quarto file detection

Description

Detect the important files in a Quarto project.

Usage

tar_quarto_files(path = ".", profile = NULL, quiet = TRUE)

Arguments

path

Character of length 1, either the file path to a Quarto source document or the directory path to a Quarto project. Defaults to the Quarto project in the current working directory.

profile

Character of length 1, Quarto profile. If NULL, the default profile will be used. Requires Quarto version 1.2 or higher. See https://quarto.org/docs/projects/profiles.html for details.

quiet

Suppress warning and other messages.

Details

This function is just a thin wrapper that interprets the output of quarto::quarto_inspect() and returns what tarchetypes needs to know about the current Quarto project or document.

Value

A named list of important file paths in a Quarto project or document:

  • sources: source files which may reference upstream target dependencies in code chunks using tar_load()/tar_read().

  • output: output files that will be generated during quarto::quarto_render().

  • input: pre-existing files required to render the project or document, such as ⁠_quarto.yml⁠ and quarto extensions.

See Also

Other Literate programming utilities: tar_knitr_deps(), tar_knitr_deps_expr()

Examples

lines <- c(
  "---",
  "title: source file",
  "---",
  "Assume these lines are in report.qmd.",
  "```{r}",
  "1 + 1",
  "```"
)
path <- tempfile(fileext = ".qmd")
writeLines(lines, path)
# If Quarto is installed, run:
# tar_quarto_files(path)

Parameterized Quarto with dynamic branching.

Description

Targets to render a parameterized Quarto document with multiple sets of parameters.

tar_quarto_rep() expects an unevaluated symbol for the name argument and an unevaluated expression for the exectue_params argument. tar_quarto_rep_raw() expects a character string for the name argument and an evaluated expression object for the exectue_params argument.

Usage

tar_quarto_rep(
  name,
  path,
  working_directory = NULL,
  execute_params = data.frame(),
  batches = NULL,
  extra_files = character(0),
  execute = TRUE,
  cache = NULL,
  cache_refresh = FALSE,
  debug = FALSE,
  quiet = TRUE,
  quarto_args = NULL,
  pandoc_args = NULL,
  rep_workers = 1,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_quarto_rep_raw(
  name,
  path,
  working_directory = NULL,
  execute_params = expression(NULL),
  batches = NULL,
  extra_files = character(0),
  execute = TRUE,
  cache = NULL,
  cache_refresh = FALSE,
  debug = FALSE,
  quiet = TRUE,
  quarto_args = NULL,
  pandoc_args = NULL,
  rep_workers = 1,
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

Arguments

name

Name of the target. tar_quarto_rep() expects an unevaluated symbol for the name argument, and tar_quarto_rep_raw() expects a character string for name.

path

Character string, path to the Quarto source file if rendering a single file, or the path to the root of the project if rendering a whole Quarto project.

working_directory

Optional character string, path to the working directory to temporarily set when running the report. The default is NULL, which runs the report from the current working directory at the time the pipeline is run. This default is recommended in the vast majority of cases. To use anything other than NULL, you must manually set the value of the store argument relative to the working directory in all calls to tar_read() and tar_load() in the report. Otherwise, these functions will not know where to find the data.

execute_params

Code to generate a data frame or tibble with one row per rendered report and one column per Quarto parameter. tar_quarto_rep() expects an unevaluated expression for the exectue_params argument, whereas tar_quarto_rep_raw() expects an evaluated expression object.

You may also include an output_file column in the parameters to specify the path of each rendered report. If included, the output_file column must be a character vector with one and only one output file for each row of parameters. If an output_file column is not included, then the output files are automatically determined using the parameters, and the default file format is determined by the YAML front-matter of the Quarto source document. Only the first file format is used, the others are not generated. Quarto parameters must not be named tar_group or output_file. This execute_params argument is converted into the command for a target that supplies the Quarto parameters.

batches

Number of batches. This is also the number of dynamic branches created during tar_make().

extra_files

Character vector of extra files and directories to track for changes. The target will be invalidated (rerun on the next tar_make()) if the contents of these files changes. No need to include anything already in the output of tar_quarto_files(), the list of file dependencies automatically detected through quarto::quarto_inspect().

execute

Whether to execute embedded code chunks.

cache

Cache execution output (uses knitr cache and jupyter-cache respectively for Rmd and Jupyter input files).

cache_refresh

Force refresh of execution cache.

debug

Leave intermediate files in place after render.

quiet

Suppress warning and other messages.

quarto_args

Character vector of other quarto CLI arguments to append to the Quarto command executed by this function. This is mainly intended for advanced usage and useful for CLI arguments which are not yet mirrored in a dedicated parameter of this R function. See ⁠quarto render --help⁠ for options.

pandoc_args

Additional command line arguments to pass on to Pandoc.

rep_workers

Positive integer of length 1, number of local R processes to use to run reps within batches in parallel. If 1, then reps are run sequentially within each batch. If greater than 1, then reps within batch are run in parallel using a PSOCK cluster.

tidy_eval

Logical of length 1, whether to use tidy evaluation to resolve execute_params. Similar to the tidy_eval argument of targets::tar_target().

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

format

Optional storage format for the target's return value. With the exception of format = "file", each target gets a file in ⁠_targets/objects⁠, and each format is a different way to save and load this file. See the "Storage formats" section for a detailed list of possible data storage formats.

iteration

Character of length 1, name of the iteration mode of the target. Choices:

  • "vector": branching happens with vectors::vec_slice() and aggregation happens with vctrs::vec_c().

  • "list", branching happens with ⁠[[]]⁠ and aggregation happens with list(). In the case of list iteration, tar_read(your_target) will return a list of lists, where the outer list has one element per batch and each inner list has one element per rep within batch. To un-batch this nested list, call tar_read(your_target, recursive = FALSE).

  • "group": dplyr::group_by()-like functionality to branch over subsets of a data frame. The target's return value must be a data frame with a special tar_group column of consecutive integers from 1 through the number of groups. Each integer designates a group, and a branch is created for each collection of rows in a group. See the tar_group() function in targets to see how you can create the special tar_group column with dplyr::group_by().

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

Details

tar_quarto_rep() is an alternative to tar_target() for a parameterized Quarto document that depends on other targets. Parameters must be given as a data frame with one row per rendered report and one column per parameter. An optional output_file column may be included to set the output file path of each rendered report. (See the execute_params argument for details.)

The Quarto source should mention other dependency targets tar_load() and tar_read() in the active code chunks (which also allows you to render the report outside the pipeline if the ⁠_targets/⁠ data store already exists and appropriate defaults are specified for the parameters). (Do not use tar_load_raw() or tar_read_raw() for this.) Then, tar_quarto() defines a special kind of target. It 1. Finds all the tar_load()/tar_read() dependencies in the report and inserts them into the target's command. This enforces the proper dependency relationships. (Do not use tar_load_raw() or tar_read_raw() for this.) 2. Sets format = "file" (see tar_target()) so targets watches the files at the returned paths and reruns the report if those files change. 3. Configures the target's command to return the output report files: the rendered document, the source file, and file paths mentioned in files. All these file paths are relative paths so the project stays portable. 4. Forces the report to run in the user's current working directory instead of the working directory of the report. 5. Sets convenient default options such as deployment = "main" in the target and quiet = TRUE in quarto::quarto_render().

Value

A list of target objects to render the Quarto reports. Changes to the parameters, source file, dependencies, etc. will cause the appropriate targets to rerun during tar_make(). See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

Replicate-specific seeds

In ordinary pipelines, each target has its own unique deterministic pseudo-random number generator seed derived from its target name. In batched replicate, however, each batch is a target with multiple replicate within that batch. That is why tar_rep() and friends give each replicate its own unique seed. Each replicate-specific seed is created based on the dynamic parent target name, tar_option_get("seed") (for targets version 0.13.5.9000 and above), batch index, and rep-within-batch index. The seed is set just before the replicate runs. Replicate-specific seeds are invariant to batching structure. In other words, tar_rep(name = x, command = rnorm(1), batches = 100, reps = 1, ...) produces the same numerical output as tar_rep(name = x, command = rnorm(1), batches = 10, reps = 10, ...) (but with different batch names). Other target factories with this seed scheme are tar_rep2(), tar_map_rep(), tar_map2_count(), tar_map2_size(), and tar_render_rep(). For the ⁠tar_map2_*()⁠ functions, it is possible to manually supply your own seeds through the command1 argument and then invoke them in your custom code for command2 (set.seed(), withr::with_seed, or withr::local_seed()). For tar_render_rep(), custom seeds can be supplied to the params argument and then invoked in the individual R Markdown reports. Likewise with tar_quarto_rep() and the execute_params argument.

Literate programming limitations

Literate programming files are messy and variable, so functions like tar_render() have limitations: * Child documents are not tracked for changes. * Upstream target dependencies are not detected if tar_read() and/or tar_load() are called from a user-defined function. In addition, single target names must be mentioned and they must be symbols. tar_load("x") and tar_load(contains("x")) may not detect target x. * Special/optional input/output files may not be detected in all cases. * tar_render() and friends are for local files only. They do not integrate with the cloud storage capabilities of targets.

Quarto troubleshooting

If you encounter difficult errors, please read https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto-r/issues/16. In addition, please try to reproduce the error using quarto::quarto_render("your_report.qmd", execute_dir = getwd()) without using targets at all. Isolating errors this way makes them much easier to solve.

See Also

Other Literate programming targets: tar_knit(), tar_quarto(), tar_render(), tar_render_rep()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
# Parameterized Quarto:
lines <- c(
  "---",
  "title: 'report.qmd file'",
  "output_format: html_document",
  "params:",
  "  par: \"default value\"",
  "---",
  "Assume these lines are in a file called report.qmd.",
  "```{r}",
  "print(params$par)",
  "```"
)
writeLines(lines, "report.qmd") # In tar_dir(), not the user's file space.
# The following pipeline will run the report for each row of params.
targets::tar_script({
  library(tarchetypes)
  list(
    tar_quarto_rep(
      name = report,
      path = "report.qmd",
      execute_params = tibble::tibble(par = c(1, 2))
    ),
    tar_quarto_rep_raw(
      name = "report",
      path = "report.qmd",
      execute_params = quote(tibble::tibble(par = c(1, 2)))
    )
  )
}, ask = FALSE)
# Then, run the targets pipeline as usual.
})
}

Target with an R Markdown document.

Description

Shorthand to include an R Markdown document in a targets pipeline.

tar_render() expects an unevaluated symbol for the name argument, and it supports named ... arguments for rmarkdown::render() arguments. tar_render_raw() expects a character string for name and supports an evaluated expression object render_arguments for rmarkdown::render() arguments.

Usage

tar_render(
  name,
  path,
  output_file = NULL,
  working_directory = NULL,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = "main",
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description"),
  quiet = TRUE,
  ...
)

tar_render_raw(
  name,
  path,
  output_file = NULL,
  working_directory = NULL,
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  deployment = "main",
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description"),
  quiet = TRUE,
  render_arguments = quote(list())
)

Arguments

name

Name of the target. tar_render() expects an unevaluated symbol for the name argument, whereas tar_render_raw() expects a character string for name.

path

Character string, file path to the R Markdown source file. Must have length 1.

output_file

Character string, file path to the rendered output file.

working_directory

Optional character string, path to the working directory to temporarily set when running the report. The default is NULL, which runs the report from the current working directory at the time the pipeline is run. This default is recommended in the vast majority of cases. To use anything other than NULL, you must manually set the value of the store argument relative to the working directory in all calls to tar_read() and tar_load() in the report. Otherwise, these functions will not know where to find the data.

tidy_eval

Logical, whether to enable tidy evaluation when interpreting command and pattern. If TRUE, you can use the "bang-bang" operator ⁠!!⁠ to programmatically insert the values of global objects.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

quiet

An option to suppress printing during rendering from knitr, pandoc command line and others. To only suppress printing of the last "Output created: " message, you can set rmarkdown.render.message to FALSE

...

Named arguments to rmarkdown::render(). These arguments are evaluated when the target actually runs in tar_make(), not when the target is defined. That means, for example, you can use upstream targets as parameters of parameterized R Markdown reports. tar_render(your_target, "your_report.Rmd", params = list(your_param = your_target)) # nolint will run rmarkdown::render("your_report.Rmd", params = list(your_param = your_target)). # nolint For parameterized reports, it is recommended to supply a distinct output_file argument to each tar_render() call and set useful defaults for parameters in the R Markdown source. See the examples section for a demonstration.

render_arguments

Optional language object with a list of named arguments to rmarkdown::render(). Cannot be an expression object. (Use quote(), not expression().) The reason for quoting is that these arguments may depend on upstream targets whose values are not available at the time the target is defined, and because tar_render_raw() is the "raw" version of a function, we want to avoid all non-standard evaluation.

Details

tar_render() is an alternative to tar_target() for R Markdown reports that depend on other targets. The R Markdown source should mention dependency targets with tar_load() and tar_read() in the active code chunks (which also allows you to render the report outside the pipeline if the ⁠_targets/⁠ data store already exists). (Do not use tar_load_raw() or tar_read_raw() for this.) Then, tar_render() defines a special kind of target. It 1. Finds all the tar_load()/tar_read() dependencies in the report and inserts them into the target's command. This enforces the proper dependency relationships. (Do not use tar_load_raw() or tar_read_raw() for this.) 2. Sets format = "file" (see tar_target()) so targets watches the files at the returned paths and reruns the report if those files change. 3. Configures the target's command to return both the output report files and the input source file. All these file paths are relative paths so the project stays portable. 4. Forces the report to run in the user's current working directory instead of the working directory of the report. 5. Sets convenient default options such as deployment = "main" in the target and quiet = TRUE in rmarkdown::render().

Value

A target object with format = "file". When this target runs, it returns a character vector of file paths: the rendered document, the source file, and then the ⁠*_files/⁠ directory if it exists. Unlike rmarkdown::render(), all returned paths are relative paths to ensure portability (so that the project can be moved from one file system to another without invalidating the target). See the "Target objects" section for background.

Literate programming limitations

Literate programming files are messy and variable, so functions like tar_render() have limitations: * Child documents are not tracked for changes. * Upstream target dependencies are not detected if tar_read() and/or tar_load() are called from a user-defined function. In addition, single target names must be mentioned and they must be symbols. tar_load("x") and tar_load(contains("x")) may not detect target x. * Special/optional input/output files may not be detected in all cases. * tar_render() and friends are for local files only. They do not integrate with the cloud storage capabilities of targets.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other Literate programming targets: tar_knit(), tar_quarto(), tar_quarto_rep(), tar_render_rep()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({  # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
# Unparameterized R Markdown:
lines <- c(
  "---",
  "title: report.Rmd source file",
  "output_format: html_document",
  "---",
  "Assume these lines are in report.Rmd.",
  "```{r}",
  "targets::tar_read(data)",
  "```"
)
# Include the report in a pipeline as follows.
targets::tar_script({
  library(tarchetypes)
  list(
    tar_target(data, data.frame(x = seq_len(26), y = letters)),
    tar_render(report, "report.Rmd")
  )
}, ask = FALSE)
# Then, run the targets pipeline as usual.

# Parameterized R Markdown:
lines <- c(
  "---",
  "title: 'report.Rmd source file with parameters'",
  "output_format: html_document",
  "params:",
  "  your_param: \"default value\"",
  "---",
  "Assume these lines are in report.Rmd.",
  "```{r}",
  "print(params$your_param)",
  "```"
)
# Include the report in the pipeline as follows.
targets::tar_script({
  library(tarchetypes)
  list(
    tar_target(data, data.frame(x = seq_len(26), y = letters)),
    tar_render(
      name = report,
      "report.Rmd",
      params = list(your_param = data)
    ),
    tar_render_raw(
      name = "report2",
      "report.Rmd",
      params = quote(list(your_param = data))
    )
  )
}, ask = FALSE)
})
# Then, run the targets pipeline as usual.
}

Parameterized R Markdown with dynamic branching.

Description

Targets to render a parameterized R Markdown report with multiple sets of parameters.

tar_render_rep() expects an unevaluated symbol for the name argument, and it supports named ... arguments for rmarkdown::render() arguments. tar_render_rep_raw() expects a character string for name and supports an evaluated expression object render_arguments for rmarkdown::render() arguments.

Usage

tar_render_rep(
  name,
  path,
  working_directory = NULL,
  params = data.frame(),
  batches = NULL,
  rep_workers = 1,
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description"),
  quiet = TRUE,
  ...
)

tar_render_rep_raw(
  name,
  path,
  working_directory = NULL,
  params = expression(NULL),
  batches = NULL,
  rep_workers = 1,
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description"),
  quiet = TRUE,
  args = list()
)

Arguments

name

Name of the target. tar_render_rep() expects an unevaluated symbol for the name argument, whereas tar_render_rep_raw() expects a character string for name.

path

Character string, file path to the R Markdown source file. Must have length 1.

working_directory

Optional character string, path to the working directory to temporarily set when running the report. The default is NULL, which runs the report from the current working directory at the time the pipeline is run. This default is recommended in the vast majority of cases. To use anything other than NULL, you must manually set the value of the store argument relative to the working directory in all calls to tar_read() and tar_load() in the report. Otherwise, these functions will not know where to find the data.

params

Code to generate a data frame or tibble with one row per rendered report and one column per R Markdown parameter. You may also include an output_file column to specify the path of each rendered report. This params argument is converted into the command for a target that supplies the R Markdown parameters.

batches

Number of batches. This is also the number of dynamic branches created during tar_make().

rep_workers

Positive integer of length 1, number of local R processes to use to run reps within batches in parallel. If 1, then reps are run sequentially within each batch. If greater than 1, then reps within batch are run in parallel using a PSOCK cluster.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

format

Optional storage format for the target's return value. With the exception of format = "file", each target gets a file in ⁠_targets/objects⁠, and each format is a different way to save and load this file. See the "Storage formats" section for a detailed list of possible data storage formats.

iteration

Character of length 1, name of the iteration mode of the target. Choices:

  • "vector": branching happens with vectors::vec_slice() and aggregation happens with vctrs::vec_c().

  • "list", branching happens with ⁠[[]]⁠ and aggregation happens with list(). In the case of list iteration, tar_read(your_target) will return a list of lists, where the outer list has one element per batch and each inner list has one element per rep within batch. To un-batch this nested list, call tar_read(your_target, recursive = FALSE).

  • "group": dplyr::group_by()-like functionality to branch over subsets of a data frame. The target's return value must be a data frame with a special tar_group column of consecutive integers from 1 through the number of groups. Each integer designates a group, and a branch is created for each collection of rows in a group. See the tar_group() function in targets to see how you can create the special tar_group column with dplyr::group_by().

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

quiet

An option to suppress printing during rendering from knitr, pandoc command line and others. To only suppress printing of the last "Output created: " message, you can set rmarkdown.render.message to FALSE

...

Other named arguments to rmarkdown::render(). Unlike tar_render(), these arguments are evaluated when the target is defined, not when it is run. (The only reason to delay evaluation in tar_render() was to handle R Markdown parameters, and tar_render_rep() handles them differently.)

args

Named list of other arguments to rmarkdown::render(). Must not include params or output_file. Evaluated when the target is defined.

Details

tar_render_rep() is an alternative to tar_target() for parameterized R Markdown reports that depend on other targets. Parameters must be given as a data frame with one row per rendered report and one column per parameter. An optional output_file column may be included to set the output file path of each rendered report. The R Markdown source should mention other dependency targets tar_load() and tar_read() in the active code chunks (which also allows you to render the report outside the pipeline if the ⁠_targets/⁠ data store already exists and appropriate defaults are specified for the parameters). (Do not use tar_load_raw() or tar_read_raw() for this.) Then, tar_render() defines a special kind of target. It 1. Finds all the tar_load()/tar_read() dependencies in the report and inserts them into the target's command. This enforces the proper dependency relationships. (Do not use tar_load_raw() or tar_read_raw() for this.) 2. Sets format = "file" (see tar_target()) so targets watches the files at the returned paths and reruns the report if those files change. 3. Configures the target's command to return the output report files: the rendered document, the source file, and then the ⁠*_files/⁠ directory if it exists. All these file paths are relative paths so the project stays portable. 4. Forces the report to run in the user's current working directory instead of the working directory of the report. 5. Sets convenient default options such as deployment = "main" in the target and quiet = TRUE in rmarkdown::render().

Value

A list of target objects to render the R Markdown reports. Changes to the parameters, source file, dependencies, etc. will cause the appropriate targets to rerun during tar_make(). See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

Replicate-specific seeds

In ordinary pipelines, each target has its own unique deterministic pseudo-random number generator seed derived from its target name. In batched replicate, however, each batch is a target with multiple replicate within that batch. That is why tar_rep() and friends give each replicate its own unique seed. Each replicate-specific seed is created based on the dynamic parent target name, tar_option_get("seed") (for targets version 0.13.5.9000 and above), batch index, and rep-within-batch index. The seed is set just before the replicate runs. Replicate-specific seeds are invariant to batching structure. In other words, tar_rep(name = x, command = rnorm(1), batches = 100, reps = 1, ...) produces the same numerical output as tar_rep(name = x, command = rnorm(1), batches = 10, reps = 10, ...) (but with different batch names). Other target factories with this seed scheme are tar_rep2(), tar_map_rep(), tar_map2_count(), tar_map2_size(), and tar_render_rep(). For the ⁠tar_map2_*()⁠ functions, it is possible to manually supply your own seeds through the command1 argument and then invoke them in your custom code for command2 (set.seed(), withr::with_seed, or withr::local_seed()). For tar_render_rep(), custom seeds can be supplied to the params argument and then invoked in the individual R Markdown reports. Likewise with tar_quarto_rep() and the execute_params argument.

Literate programming limitations

Literate programming files are messy and variable, so functions like tar_render() have limitations: * Child documents are not tracked for changes. * Upstream target dependencies are not detected if tar_read() and/or tar_load() are called from a user-defined function. In addition, single target names must be mentioned and they must be symbols. tar_load("x") and tar_load(contains("x")) may not detect target x. * Special/optional input/output files may not be detected in all cases. * tar_render() and friends are for local files only. They do not integrate with the cloud storage capabilities of targets.

See Also

Other Literate programming targets: tar_knit(), tar_quarto(), tar_quarto_rep(), tar_render()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
# Parameterized R Markdown:
lines <- c(
  "---",
  "title: 'report.Rmd file'",
  "output_format: html_document",
  "params:",
  "  par: \"default value\"",
  "---",
  "Assume these lines are in a file called report.Rmd.",
  "```{r}",
  "print(params$par)",
  "```"
)
# The following pipeline will run the report for each row of params.
targets::tar_script({
  library(tarchetypes)
  list(
    tar_render_rep(
      name = report,
      "report.Rmd",
      params = tibble::tibble(par = c(1, 2))
    ),
    tar_render_rep_raw(
      name = "report2",
      "report.Rmd",
      params = quote(tibble::tibble(par = c(1, 2)))
    )
  )
}, ask = FALSE)
# Then, run the targets pipeline as usual.
})
}

Batched replication with dynamic branching.

Description

Batching is important for optimizing the efficiency of heavily dynamically-branched workflows: https://books.ropensci.org/targets/dynamic.html#batching. tar_rep() replicates a command in strategically sized batches.

tar_rep() expects unevaluated name and command arguments (e.g. tar_rep(name = sim, command = simulate())) whereas tar_rep_raw() expects an evaluated string for name and an evaluated expression object for command (e.g. tar_rep_raw(name = "sim", command = quote(simulate()))).

Usage

tar_rep(
  name,
  command,
  batches = 1,
  reps = 1,
  rep_workers = 1,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_rep_raw(
  name,
  command,
  batches = 1,
  reps = 1,
  rep_workers = 1,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

Arguments

name

Name of the target. tar_rep() expects unevaluated name and command arguments (e.g. tar_rep(name = sim, command = simulate())) whereas tar_rep_raw() expects an evaluated string for name and an evaluated expression object for command (e.g. tar_rep_raw(name = "sim", command = quote(simulate()))).

command

R code to run multiple times. Must return a list or data frame because tar_rep() will try to append new elements/columns tar_batch and tar_rep to the output to denote the batch and rep-within-batch IDs, respectively.

tar_rep() expects unevaluated name and command arguments (e.g. tar_rep(name = sim, command = simulate())) whereas tar_rep_raw() expects an evaluated string for name and an evaluated expression object for command (e.g. tar_rep_raw(name = "sim", command = quote(simulate()))).

batches

Number of batches. This is also the number of dynamic branches created during tar_make().

reps

Number of replications in each batch. The total number of replications is batches * reps.

rep_workers

Positive integer of length 1, number of local R processes to use to run reps within batches in parallel. If 1, then reps are run sequentially within each batch. If greater than 1, then reps within batch are run in parallel using a PSOCK cluster.

tidy_eval

Whether to invoke tidy evaluation (e.g. the ⁠!!⁠ operator from rlang) as soon as the target is defined (before tar_make()). Applies to the command argument.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

format

Optional storage format for the target's return value. With the exception of format = "file", each target gets a file in ⁠_targets/objects⁠, and each format is a different way to save and load this file. See the "Storage formats" section for a detailed list of possible data storage formats.

repository

Character of length 1, remote repository for target storage. Choices:

Note: if repository is not "local" and format is "file" then the target should create a single output file. That output file is uploaded to the cloud and tracked for changes where it exists in the cloud. The local file is deleted after the target runs.

iteration

Character of length 1, name of the iteration mode of the target. Choices:

  • "vector": branching happens with vectors::vec_slice() and aggregation happens with vctrs::vec_c().

  • "list", branching happens with ⁠[[]]⁠ and aggregation happens with list(). In the case of list iteration, tar_read(your_target) will return a list of lists, where the outer list has one element per batch and each inner list has one element per rep within batch. To un-batch this nested list, call tar_read(your_target, recursive = FALSE).

  • "group": dplyr::group_by()-like functionality to branch over subsets of a data frame. The target's return value must be a data frame with a special tar_group column of consecutive integers from 1 through the number of groups. Each integer designates a group, and a branch is created for each collection of rows in a group. See the tar_group() function in targets to see how you can create the special tar_group column with dplyr::group_by().

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

storage

Character string to control when the output of the target is saved to storage. Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's return value is sent back to the host machine and saved/uploaded locally.

  • "worker": the worker saves/uploads the value.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to save the result of the target to storage in the location where targets expects it to be. Saving to storage is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

Details

tar_rep() and tar_rep_raw() each create two targets: an upstream local stem with an integer vector of batch ids, and a downstream pattern that maps over the batch ids. (Thus, each batch is a branch.) Each batch/branch replicates the command a certain number of times. If the command returns a list or data frame, then the targets from tar_rep() will try to append new elements/columns tar_batch, tar_rep, and tar_seed to the output to denote the batch, rep-within-batch index, and rep-specific seed, respectively.

Both batches and reps within each batch are aggregated according to the method you specify in the iteration argument. If "list", reps and batches are aggregated with list(). If "vector", then vctrs::vec_c(). If "group", then vctrs::vec_rbind().

Value

A list of two targets, one upstream and one downstream. The upstream target returns a numeric index of batch ids, and the downstream one dynamically maps over the batch ids to run the command multiple times. If the command returns a list or data frame, then the targets from tar_rep() will try to append new elements/columns tar_batch, tar_rep, and tar_seed to the output to denote the batch, rep-within-batch ID, and random number generator seed, respectively.

tar_read(your_target) (on the downstream target with the actual work) will return a list of lists, where the outer list has one element per batch and each inner list has one element per rep within batch. To un-batch this nested list, call tar_read(your_target, recursive = FALSE).

Replicate-specific seeds

In ordinary pipelines, each target has its own unique deterministic pseudo-random number generator seed derived from its target name. In batched replicate, however, each batch is a target with multiple replicate within that batch. That is why tar_rep() and friends give each replicate its own unique seed. Each replicate-specific seed is created based on the dynamic parent target name, tar_option_get("seed") (for targets version 0.13.5.9000 and above), batch index, and rep-within-batch index. The seed is set just before the replicate runs. Replicate-specific seeds are invariant to batching structure. In other words, tar_rep(name = x, command = rnorm(1), batches = 100, reps = 1, ...) produces the same numerical output as tar_rep(name = x, command = rnorm(1), batches = 10, reps = 10, ...) (but with different batch names). Other target factories with this seed scheme are tar_rep2(), tar_map_rep(), tar_map2_count(), tar_map2_size(), and tar_render_rep(). For the ⁠tar_map2_*()⁠ functions, it is possible to manually supply your own seeds through the command1 argument and then invoke them in your custom code for command2 (set.seed(), withr::with_seed, or withr::local_seed()). For tar_render_rep(), custom seeds can be supplied to the params argument and then invoked in the individual R Markdown reports. Likewise with tar_quarto_rep() and the execute_params argument.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other branching: tar_map2(), tar_map2_count(), tar_map2_size(), tar_map_rep(), tar_rep2(), tar_rep_map(), tar_rep_map_raw()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  list(
    tarchetypes::tar_rep(
      x,
      data.frame(x = sample.int(1e4, 2)),
      batches = 2,
      reps = 3
    )
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
targets::tar_read(x)
targets::tar_script({
  list(
    tarchetypes::tar_rep_raw(
      "x",
      quote(data.frame(x = sample.int(1e4, 2))),
      batches = 2,
      reps = 3
    )
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
targets::tar_read(x)
})
}

Dynamic batched computation downstream of tar_rep()

Description

Batching is important for optimizing the efficiency of heavily dynamically-branched workflows: https://books.ropensci.org/targets/dynamic.html#batching. tar_rep2() uses dynamic branching to iterate over the batches and reps of existing upstream targets.

tar_rep2() expects unevaluated language for the name, command, and ... arguments (e.g. tar_rep2(name = sim, command = simulate(), data1, data2)) whereas tar_rep2_raw() expects an evaluated string for name, an evaluated expression object for command, and a character vector for targets (e.g. ⁠tar_rep2_raw("sim", quote(simulate(x, y)), targets = c("x', "y"))⁠).

Usage

tar_rep2(
  name,
  command,
  ...,
  rep_workers = 1,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

tar_rep2_raw(
  name,
  command,
  targets,
  rep_workers = 1,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

Arguments

name

Name of the target. tar_rep2() expects unevaluated language for the name, command, and ... arguments (e.g. tar_rep2(name = sim, command = simulate(), data1, data2)) whereas tar_rep2_raw() expects an evaluated string for name, an evaluated expression object for command, and a character vector for targets (e.g. ⁠tar_rep2_raw("sim", quote(simulate(x, y)), targets = c("x', "y"))⁠).

command

R code to run multiple times. Must return a list or data frame because tar_rep() will try to append new elements/columns tar_batch and tar_rep to the output to denote the batch and rep-within-batch IDs, respectively.

tar_rep2() expects unevaluated language for the name, command, and ... arguments (e.g. tar_rep2(name = sim, command = simulate(), data1, data2)) whereas tar_rep2_raw() expects an evaluated string for name, an evaluated expression object for command, and a character vector for targets (e.g. ⁠tar_rep2_raw("sim", quote(simulate(x, y)), targets = c("x', "y"))⁠).

...

Symbols to name one or more upstream batched targets created by tar_rep(). If you supply more than one such target, all those targets must have the same number of batches and reps per batch. And they must all return either data frames or lists. List targets must use iteration = "list" in tar_rep().

rep_workers

Positive integer of length 1, number of local R processes to use to run reps within batches in parallel. If 1, then reps are run sequentially within each batch. If greater than 1, then reps within batch are run in parallel using a PSOCK cluster.

tidy_eval

Logical, whether to enable tidy evaluation when interpreting command and pattern. If TRUE, you can use the "bang-bang" operator ⁠!!⁠ to programmatically insert the values of global objects.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

format

Optional storage format for the target's return value. With the exception of format = "file", each target gets a file in ⁠_targets/objects⁠, and each format is a different way to save and load this file. See the "Storage formats" section for a detailed list of possible data storage formats.

repository

Character of length 1, remote repository for target storage. Choices:

Note: if repository is not "local" and format is "file" then the target should create a single output file. That output file is uploaded to the cloud and tracked for changes where it exists in the cloud. The local file is deleted after the target runs.

iteration

Character of length 1, name of the iteration mode of the target. Choices:

  • "vector": branching happens with vctrs::vec_slice() and aggregation happens with vctrs::vec_c().

  • "list", branching happens with ⁠[[]]⁠ and aggregation happens with list().

  • "group": dplyr::group_by()-like functionality to branch over subsets of a non-dynamic data frame. For iteration = "group", the target must not by dynamic (the pattern argument of tar_target() must be left NULL). The target's return value must be a data frame with a special tar_group column of consecutive integers from 1 through the number of groups. Each integer designates a group, and a branch is created for each collection of rows in a group. See the tar_group() function to see how you can create the special tar_group column with dplyr::group_by().

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

storage

Character string to control when the output of the target is saved to storage. Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's return value is sent back to the host machine and saved/uploaded locally.

  • "worker": the worker saves/uploads the value.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to save the result of the target to storage in the location where targets expects it to be. Saving to storage is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

targets

Character vector of names of upstream batched targets created by tar_rep(). If you supply more than one such target, all those targets must have the same number of batches and reps per batch. And they must all return either data frames or lists. List targets must use iteration = "list" in tar_rep().

Value

A new target object to perform batched computation. See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

Replicate-specific seeds

In ordinary pipelines, each target has its own unique deterministic pseudo-random number generator seed derived from its target name. In batched replicate, however, each batch is a target with multiple replicate within that batch. That is why tar_rep() and friends give each replicate its own unique seed. Each replicate-specific seed is created based on the dynamic parent target name, tar_option_get("seed") (for targets version 0.13.5.9000 and above), batch index, and rep-within-batch index. The seed is set just before the replicate runs. Replicate-specific seeds are invariant to batching structure. In other words, tar_rep(name = x, command = rnorm(1), batches = 100, reps = 1, ...) produces the same numerical output as tar_rep(name = x, command = rnorm(1), batches = 10, reps = 10, ...) (but with different batch names). Other target factories with this seed scheme are tar_rep2(), tar_map_rep(), tar_map2_count(), tar_map2_size(), and tar_render_rep(). For the ⁠tar_map2_*()⁠ functions, it is possible to manually supply your own seeds through the command1 argument and then invoke them in your custom code for command2 (set.seed(), withr::with_seed, or withr::local_seed()). For tar_render_rep(), custom seeds can be supplied to the params argument and then invoked in the individual R Markdown reports. Likewise with tar_quarto_rep() and the execute_params argument.

See Also

Other branching: tar_map2(), tar_map2_count(), tar_map2_size(), tar_map_rep(), tar_rep(), tar_rep_map(), tar_rep_map_raw()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  library(tarchetypes)
  list(
    tar_rep(
      data1,
      data.frame(value = rnorm(1)),
      batches = 2,
      reps = 3
    ),
    tar_rep(
      data2,
      list(value = rnorm(1)),
      batches = 2, reps = 3,
      iteration = "list" # List iteration is important for batched lists.
    ),
    tar_rep2(
      aggregate,
      data.frame(value = data1$value + data2$value),
      data1,
      data2
    ),
    tar_rep2_raw(
      "aggregate2",
      quote(data.frame(value = data1$value + data2$value)),
      targets = c("data1", "data2")
    )
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
targets::tar_read(aggregate)
})
}

Select target names from a target list

Description

Select the names of targets from a target list.

Usage

tar_select_names(targets, ...)

Arguments

targets

A list of target objects as described in the "Target objects" section. It does not matter how nested the list is as long as the only leaf nodes are targets.

...

One or more comma-separated tidyselect expressions, e.g. starts_with("prefix"). Just like ... in dplyr::select().

Value

A character vector of target names.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other target selection: tar_select_targets()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets <- list(
  list(
    targets::tar_target(x, 1),
    targets::tar_target(y1, 2)
  ),
  targets::tar_target(y2, 3),
  targets::tar_target(z, 4)
)
tar_select_names(targets, starts_with("y"), contains("z"))
})
}

Select target objects from a target list

Description

Select target objects from a target list.

Usage

tar_select_targets(targets, ...)

Arguments

targets

A list of target objects as described in the "Target objects" section. It does not matter how nested the list is as long as the only leaf nodes are targets.

...

One or more comma-separated tidyselect expressions, e.g. starts_with("prefix"). Just like ... in dplyr::select().

Value

A list of target objects. See the "Target objects" section of this help file.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other target selection: tar_select_names()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets <- list(
  list(
    targets::tar_target(x, 1),
    targets::tar_target(y1, 2)
  ),
  targets::tar_target(y2, 3),
  targets::tar_target(z, 4)
)
tar_select_targets(targets, starts_with("y"), contains("z"))
})
}

Target with a custom cancellation condition.

Description

Create a target that cancels itself if a user-defined decision rule is met.

Usage

tar_skip(
  name,
  command,
  skip,
  tidy_eval = targets::tar_option_get("tidy_eval"),
  packages = targets::tar_option_get("packages"),
  library = targets::tar_option_get("library"),
  format = targets::tar_option_get("format"),
  repository = targets::tar_option_get("repository"),
  iteration = targets::tar_option_get("iteration"),
  error = targets::tar_option_get("error"),
  memory = targets::tar_option_get("memory"),
  garbage_collection = targets::tar_option_get("garbage_collection"),
  deployment = targets::tar_option_get("deployment"),
  priority = targets::tar_option_get("priority"),
  resources = targets::tar_option_get("resources"),
  storage = targets::tar_option_get("storage"),
  retrieval = targets::tar_option_get("retrieval"),
  cue = targets::tar_option_get("cue"),
  description = targets::tar_option_get("description")
)

Arguments

name

Symbol, name of the target. In tar_target(), name is an unevaluated symbol, e.g. tar_target(name = data). In tar_target_raw(), name is a character string, e.g. tar_target_raw(name = "data").

A target name must be a valid name for a symbol in R, and it must not start with a dot. Subsequent targets can refer to this name symbolically to induce a dependency relationship: e.g. tar_target(downstream_target, f(upstream_target)) is a target named downstream_target which depends on a target upstream_target and a function f(). In addition, a target's name determines its random number generator seed. In this way, each target runs with a reproducible seed so someone else running the same pipeline should get the same results, and no two targets in the same pipeline share the same seed. (Even dynamic branches have different names and thus different seeds.) You can recover the seed of a completed target with tar_meta(your_target, seed) and run tar_seed_set() on the result to locally recreate the target's initial RNG state.

command

R code to run the target. In tar_target(), command is an unevaluated expression, e.g. tar_target(command = data). In tar_target_raw(), command is an evaluated expression, e.g. tar_target_raw(command = quote(data)).

skip

R code for the skipping condition. If it evaluates to TRUE during tar_make(), the target will cancel itself.

tidy_eval

Whether to invoke tidy evaluation (e.g. the ⁠!!⁠ operator from rlang) as soon as the target is defined (before tar_make()). Applies to arguments command and skip.

packages

Character vector of packages to load right before the target runs or the output data is reloaded for downstream targets. Use tar_option_set() to set packages globally for all subsequent targets you define.

library

Character vector of library paths to try when loading packages.

format

Optional storage format for the target's return value. With the exception of format = "file", each target gets a file in ⁠_targets/objects⁠, and each format is a different way to save and load this file. See the "Storage formats" section for a detailed list of possible data storage formats.

repository

Character of length 1, remote repository for target storage. Choices:

Note: if repository is not "local" and format is "file" then the target should create a single output file. That output file is uploaded to the cloud and tracked for changes where it exists in the cloud. The local file is deleted after the target runs.

iteration

Character of length 1, name of the iteration mode of the target. Choices:

  • "vector": branching happens with vctrs::vec_slice() and aggregation happens with vctrs::vec_c().

  • "list", branching happens with ⁠[[]]⁠ and aggregation happens with list().

  • "group": dplyr::group_by()-like functionality to branch over subsets of a non-dynamic data frame. For iteration = "group", the target must not by dynamic (the pattern argument of tar_target() must be left NULL). The target's return value must be a data frame with a special tar_group column of consecutive integers from 1 through the number of groups. Each integer designates a group, and a branch is created for each collection of rows in a group. See the tar_group() function to see how you can create the special tar_group column with dplyr::group_by().

error

Character of length 1, what to do if the target stops and throws an error. Options:

  • "stop": the whole pipeline stops and throws an error.

  • "continue": the whole pipeline keeps going.

  • "null": The errored target continues and returns NULL. The data hash is deliberately wrong so the target is not up to date for the next run of the pipeline. In addition, as of version 1.8.0.9011, a value of NULL is given to upstream dependencies with error = "null" if loading fails.

  • "abridge": any currently running targets keep running, but no new targets launch after that.

  • "trim": all currently running targets stay running. A queued target is allowed to start if:

    1. It is not downstream of the error, and

    2. It is not a sibling branch from the same tar_target() call (if the error happened in a dynamic branch).

    The idea is to avoid starting any new work that the immediate error impacts. error = "trim" is just like error = "abridge", but it allows potentially healthy regions of the dependency graph to begin running. (Visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/debugging.html to learn how to debug targets using saved workspaces.)

memory

Character of length 1, memory strategy. Possible values:

  • "auto": new in targets version 1.8.0.9011, memory = "auto" is equivalent to memory = "transient" for dynamic branching (a non-null pattern argument) and memory = "persistent" for targets that do not use dynamic branching.

  • "persistent": the target stays in memory until the end of the pipeline (unless storage is "worker", in which case targets unloads the value from memory right after storing it in order to avoid sending copious data over a network).

  • "transient": the target gets unloaded after every new target completes. Either way, the target gets automatically loaded into memory whenever another target needs the value.

For cloud-based dynamic files (e.g. format = "file" with repository = "aws"), the memory option applies to the temporary local copy of the file: "persistent" means it remains until the end of the pipeline and is then deleted, and "transient" means it gets deleted as soon as possible. The former conserves bandwidth, and the latter conserves local storage.

garbage_collection

Logical: TRUE to run base::gc() just before the target runs, FALSE to omit garbage collection. In the case of high-performance computing, gc() runs both locally and on the parallel worker. All this garbage collection is skipped if the actual target is skipped in the pipeline. Non-logical values of garbage_collection are converted to TRUE or FALSE using isTRUE(). In other words, non-logical values are converted FALSE. For example, garbage_collection = 2 is equivalent to garbage_collection = FALSE.

deployment

Character of length 1. If deployment is "main", then the target will run on the central controlling R process. Otherwise, if deployment is "worker" and you set up the pipeline with distributed/parallel computing, then the target runs on a parallel worker. For more on distributed/parallel computing in targets, please visit https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html.

priority

Numeric of length 1 between 0 and 1. Controls which targets get deployed first when multiple competing targets are ready simultaneously. Targets with priorities closer to 1 get dispatched earlier (and polled earlier in tar_make_future()).

resources

Object returned by tar_resources() with optional settings for high-performance computing functionality, alternative data storage formats, and other optional capabilities of targets. See tar_resources() for details.

storage

Character string to control when the output of the target is saved to storage. Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's return value is sent back to the host machine and saved/uploaded locally.

  • "worker": the worker saves/uploads the value.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to save the result of the target to storage in the location where targets expects it to be. Saving to storage is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

retrieval

Character string to control when the current target loads its dependencies into memory before running. (Here, a "dependency" is another target upstream that the current one depends on.) Only relevant when using targets with parallel workers (https://books.ropensci.org/targets/crew.html). Must be one of the following values:

  • "main": the target's dependencies are loaded on the host machine and sent to the worker before the target runs.

  • "worker": the worker loads the target's dependencies.

  • "none": targets makes no attempt to load its dependencies. With retrieval = "none", loading dependencies is the responsibility of the user. Use with caution.

cue

An optional object from tar_cue() to customize the rules that decide whether the target is up to date.

description

Character of length 1, a custom free-form human-readable text description of the target. Descriptions appear as target labels in functions like tar_manifest() and tar_visnetwork(), and they let you select subsets of targets for the names argument of functions like tar_make(). For example, tar_manifest(names = tar_described_as(starts_with("survival model"))) lists all the targets whose descriptions start with the character string "survival model".

Details

tar_skip() creates a target that cancels itself whenever a custom condition is met. The mechanism of cancellation is targets::tar_cancel(your_condition), which allows skipping to happen even if the target does not exist yet. This behavior differs from tar_cue(mode = "never"), which still runs if the target does not exist.

Value

A target object with targets::tar_cancel(your_condition) inserted into the command. See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other targets with custom invalidation rules: tar_change(), tar_download(), tar_force()

Examples

if (identical(Sys.getenv("TAR_LONG_EXAMPLES"), "true")) {
targets::tar_dir({ # tar_dir() runs code from a temporary directory.
targets::tar_script({
  list(
    tarchetypes::tar_skip(x, command = "value", skip = 1 > 0)
  )
})
targets::tar_make()
})
}

Create multiple expressions with symbol substitution.

Description

Loop over a grid of values and create an expression object from each one. Helps with general metaprogramming.

tar_sub() expects an unevaluated expression for the expr object, whereas tar_sub_raw() expects an evaluated expression object.

Usage

tar_sub(expr, values)

tar_sub_raw(expr, values)

Arguments

expr

Starting expression. Values are iteratively substituted in place of symbols in expr to create each new expression.

tar_sub() expects an unevaluated expression for the expr object, whereas tar_sub_raw() expects an evaluated expression object.

values

List of values to substitute into expr to create the expressions. All elements of values must have the same length.

Value

A list of expression objects. Often, these expression objects evaluate to target objects (but not necessarily). See the "Target objects" section for background.

Target objects

Most tarchetypes functions are target factories, which means they return target objects or lists of target objects. Target objects represent skippable steps of the analysis pipeline as described at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/. Please read the walkthrough at https://books.ropensci.org/targets/walkthrough.html to understand the role of target objects in analysis pipelines.

For developers, https://wlandau.github.io/targetopia/contributing.html#target-factories explains target factories (functions like this one which generate targets) and the design specification at https://books.ropensci.org/targets-design/ details the structure and composition of target objects.

See Also

Other Metaprogramming utilities: tar_eval()

Examples

# tar_map() is incompatible with tar_render() because the latter
# operates on preexisting tar_target() objects. By contrast,
# tar_eval() and tar_sub() iterate over code farther upstream.
values <- list(
  name = lapply(c("name1", "name2"), as.symbol),
  file = list("file1.Rmd", "file2.Rmd")
)
tar_sub(tar_render(name, file), values = values)
tar_sub_raw(quote(tar_render(name, file)), values = values)