App Shared Files
This shiny/shared folder has code components that may be called by multiple analysis apps.
The global folder has scripts that define utility functions that do not depend on user session data. They are sourced prior to initialization of a specific app and must not depend on app or other session variables, unless they are passed as function arguments.
The session folder has scripts that define functions that are potentially specific to a user session or needed to assemble and serve an app. They are sourced after a user commits to a specific app and therefore have app and other session variables implicitly in their scope.
Scripts in both the global and session folders are sourced into the R environment of every user session, i.e., in sessionEnv. This enables hotfixes and rolling updates without server restart, only a page reload.
The static folder has fixed content for populating pages with text, mostly via markdown rendered in R with includeMarkdown(file.path('static/xxx.md')).
Recurring code elements
classes are R Shiny S3 classes that define reusable data objects for use by developers writing MDI code. Their purpose is to encapsulate methods and other common logic. Classes are never used to access or create the UI.
modules are R Shiny modules that define reusable UI components and associated server logic for app steps, widgets, etc.
- appControl - control overall framework behavior
- appSteps - common analysis steps used by apps, e.g., to load files
- widgets - UI components to embed on pages, e.g., plot boxes
packages holds files that declare and load the various R packages used to implement the framework and handle data.
types define data classes that help structure app contents.
- analysisTypes - common ways that data may be analyzed across apps
- manifestTypes - the file formats by which data providers deliver sample metadata
ui scripts offer functions to help assemble page UIs.
utilities scripts offer functions to get or set various data values.
modules, types, ui, and utilities folders can also be created within app folders, to be loaded only with that specific app. However, it is often desirable to abstract such files to be reusable in other apps.
Shared code versioning
Code components in the shared folder are scoped to the suite of tools, so the relevant versioning is to create appropriate release tags for the tool suite repository that reflect the code changes in your shared components. Doing so will help people who want to use shared components from your tool suite when building their own apps.
All apps within a tool suite are expected to have been adjusted for any changes made within its shared components. You should advance the version of your apps to reflect this change, most likely as a patch.