MPN overview

MPN overview

MetrumRG supports the open source software community through highlighting scientific and statistical packages developed by the open source community and through providing and enhancing open source packages developed by MetrumRG in an offering called the Metrum Package Network (MPN). MPN is a solution that provides frequent snapshots of a curated collection of packages that includes packages developed by MetrumRG and a subset of packages selected from sources like CRAN and Bioconductor. Each snapshot contains an immutable set of packages that match across Windows, OSX, and Linux to provide reproducible, consistent cross platform package installations. MPN provides the packages and underlying dependencies in a manner that allows for a more efficient reproducibility process.

MPN snapshots are available at mpn.metworx.com.

Package Version Comparisons

From mpn.metworx.com, package version differences can be reviewed.

  • The "Version History" section of each package page shows which versions were on which snapshots (see the dplyr page, for example), and when the package first became available on MPN.

MPN 1

MPN 2

  • Packages between two or more snapshots can be reviewed by going to a snapshot page and adding other snapshots in the drop-down menu. In this view, an empty field for any package means it was not present on that snapshot.

MPN 3

Snapshot URLs

When using MPN snapshots within Metworx, particular snapshots can be referred to by related URLs https://mpn.metworx.com/snapshots/stable/<snapshot-date>. For example, in a pkgr.yml file:

MPN 4

MPN Pro

MetrumRG offers a more comprehensive service for MPN called MPN Pro. MPN Pro customers will provide comprehensive package management, including:

  • Monthly updates on the state of the package ecosystem.
  • Comprehensive package documentation on approved package sets within the Metworx environment aligned with a release schedule approved by client.
  • Versioned documentation for user-packages provided.
  • Binary archival for mac and windows platforms to allow packages in laptop environments.
  • Ability to request expansion of the package set available in MPN.
  • Guidance and training on best practices for how to set up and manage R packages within projects.

Please contact us for more information.