Is there any authoritative documentation on R release nicknames?

R

R Problem Overview

Somewhere after R 2.1.0, I started noticing short phrases next to the R release number that is displayed on start up. This turns out to be a release nickname, an undocumented component added to the R.Version variable, accessible with R.Version$nickname.

The archives of R-announce show Peter Dalgaard announcing a new release's nickname on several occasions (e.g., here) but I don't find any other information. Despite being a list element of the object queried by R.Version(), it is not included in help file for that function.

Is there any documentation on this feature? Ideally I'd like a statement of the system used to determine a release's nickname, but any authoritative reference would be great.

R Solutions

Solution 1 - R

In response to an email asking if there is a system to the names, Peter Dalgaard states there is

> "No system (except that they should be in season at release time)"

Thus, they are not alphabetical or otherwise ordinal -- there is apparently not a way to infer the order of releases from their nicknames.

There is, however, the appearance of a possible general theme:

As no one has uncovered any documentation, I'll tentatively accept my own answer.

Solution 2 - R

I'm surprised @joran didn't follow up on his own hint in the comments section. All of the version names can be traced directly to the Peanuts cartoon. I stumbled upon the evidence in my daily peanuts desktop calendar:

enter image description here

I provided an answer here: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-reasons-behind-the-release-names-of-the-various-R-iterations.

A few more examples:

(Frisbee Sailing)

enter image description here

enter image description here

(World Famous Astronaut)

enter image description here

It's too easy - just Google the version names followed by "Peanuts" and you'll find all of them!

The follow up question to this is: Who in the R Core Team loves Peanuts and got this started?

Solution 3 - R

Peter Delgaard has confirmed that the release names are taken from the Peanuts comics, in his talk made at useR!2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1vTSdRolgI

At about 8 minutes in is when he starts talking about the release names (screenshot from the video):

enter image description here

He also references this site for an explanation of the releases: http://livefreeordichotomize.com/2018/04/23/r-release-names/

Solution 4 - R

Other responses have pointed that all of the release names are references to Peanuts strips/films. [R release names][1] is a blog page with reference to each comic strip for each version name.

From the page:

> r-devel (unreleased development version) Unsuffered Consequences > > Reference: Peanuts August 17, 1967 > > 2.14.0 (2011-10-31) Great Pumpkin > > Reference: Peanuts October 29, 1973 > > 2.14.1 (2011-12-22) December Snowflakes > > > Reference: A Charlie Brown Christmas > > This is very close to the Peanuts January 5, 1960, however they > mention January snowflakes rather than December. The “December > Snowflakes” quote is from A Charlie Brown Christmas. > > 2.14.2 (2012-02-29) Gift-Getting Season > > Reference: This is a line Lucy says in the short film It’s the Easter > Beagle, Charlie Brown! – referring to Easter as the “gift-getting > season”. > > > 2.15.0 (2012-03-30) Easter Beagle > > Reference: Peanuts April 11, 1971 > > This also likely references the It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie > Brown!. > > 2.15.1 (2012-06-22) Roasted Marshmallows > > Reference: Peanuts June 6, 1987 > > 2.15.2 (2012-10-26) Trick or Treat > > Reference: Peanuts October 31, 1969 > > 2.15.3 (2013-03-01) Security Blanket > > Reference: Peanuts October 23, 1965 > > > 3.0.0 (2013-04-03) Masked Marvel > > Reference: Peanuts June 23, 1981 > > Edit: Got some insider info from the source himself that this is from > Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show! > > > Source MoviesAfterMidnight > 3.0.1 (2013-05-16) Good Sport > > Reference: You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown > > This is likely from the film You’re a Good Sport Charlie Brown, > however there Peanuts November 22, 1953 does refer to being a “Good > Sport” as well! > > 3.0.2 (2013-09-25) Frisbee Sailing > > Reference: Peanuts September 3, 1971 > > 3.1.0 (2014-04-10) Spring Dance > > Reference: Peanuts March 22, 1971 > > Sock it to me Source ebay > 3.1.1 (2014-07-10) Sock it to Me > > Reference: This seems to be referring to a mini jigsaw puzzle, > available on ebay! > > > Source MoviesAfterMidnight > 3.1.2 (2014-10-31) Pumpkin Helmet > > Reference: You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown > > It’s a bit later in the clip, around 16:45. > > Source Something to be Found > 3.1.3 (2015-03-09) Smooth Sidewalk > > Reference: This is a page from the Happiness is a Warm Puppy book. > > 3.2.0 (2015-04-16) Full of Ingredients > > Reference: Peanuts April 7, 1966 > > 3.2.1 (2015-06-18) World-Famous Astronaut > > Reference: Peanuts March 10, 1969 > > > Source Business Wire > 3.2.2 (2015-08-14) Fire Safety > > Reference: It seems that MetLife created a Peanuts themed Fire Saftey > Brochure coloring and activity book. > > 3.2.3 (2015-12-10) Wooden Christmas-Tree > > Reference: This is a line from A Charlie Brown Christmas – Linus says > “Gee, I didn’t know they still made wooden Christmas trees”. > > 3.2.4 (2016-03-11) Very Secure Dishes > > Reference: Peanuts February 20, 1964 > > 3.2.5 (2016-04-11) Very, Very Secure Dishes (a rebadged 3.2.4-revised) > > I assume this is still a reference to Peanuts February 20, 1964 > > 3.3.0 (2016-05-03) Supposedly Educational > > Reference: Peanuts May 7, 1971 > > 3.3.1 (2016-06-21) Bug in Your Hair > > Reference: Peanuts June 15, 1967 > > 3.3.2 (2016-10-31) Sincere Pumpkin Patch > > Reference: Peanuts Oct 30, 1968 > > 3.3.3 (2017-03-06) Another Canoe > > Reference: Peanuts June 29, 1966 > > 3.4.0 (2017-04-21) You Stupid Darkness > > Reference: Peanuts September 9, 1965 > > 3.4.1 (2017-06-30) Single Candle > > Reference: Peanuts September 9, 1965 > > 3.4.2 (2017-09-28) Short Summer > > Reference: It was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown > > > 3.4.3 (2017-11-30) Kite-eating Tree > > Reference: Peanuts February 19, 1967 > > Peter Dalgaard made a gif to commemorate the momentous occasion! > > > > > Source catawiki auctions > 3.4.4 (2018-03-15) Someone to Lean On > > Reference: Peanuts Figurine (1971). There are a couple of different > versions of this, some with Charlie Brown and Snoopy, one with Linus > and Snoopy, and one with Woodstock and Snoopy. Many of them were > Hallmark cards, but there was also a badge and this figurine. The > oldest (dated) one I could find was this one from 1971, so we went > with that! > > 3.5.0 (2018-04-23) Joy in Playing > > Reference: Peanuts January 27, 1973 > > 3.5.1 (2018-07-02) Feather Spray > > Reference: Peanuts March 9, 1972 > > > [1]: https://livefreeordichotomize.com/2017/09/28/r-release-names/

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