Spotfire SPK versioning

Typically, you create the SPK (.spk) file that contains the packages, and then you install it on a service running on a Spotfire Server node. You might need to change or update the packages that you distribute, which requires updating the .spk file.

You can create or change a Spotfire .spk file using R or from a text editor. The R function buildServerSPK (found in the SpotfireSPK package) creates the Spotfire .spk file using the versioning rule details for the following tasks.

Note: The SPK property BuiltVersion is NOT the same as the package version. That information is stored in the package DESCRIPTION file. BuiltVersion is always specified as four components (N.n.n.n).

Note: Each of the following examples assumes a call to .libPaths, as described in Helper packages included in the service to set the package path.


Task	Example	Notes and Results
Create a new DCF for a new SPK containing packages to put on the Spotfire Server.	From the R console, install the required packages, and then create the SPK. `#load the library containing #the tools library(SpotfireSPK) #install the packages to go # into the SPK install.packages(c("plyr","zoo")) #create the DCF containing # the package names writeLines("Packages: plyr,zoo", "ServerSPK.dcf") #create the SPK to upload to the # Spotfire Server buildServerSPK("ServerSPK.dcf", "ServerSPK.spk")`	A DCF with the name ServerSPK.dcf is created containing the package names listed in the `text` argument of `writeLines`, along with their required and dependent packages. The specified packages are included in the SPK. The SPK `BuiltVersion` number is listed in the DCF as follows. `"BuiltVersion: 1.0.0.0"` Tip: You can see the `BuiltVersion` by opening the DCF in a text editor, or by calling `readLines`: `readLines("ServerSPK.dcf")`
Add packages to an existing SPK to put on Spotfire Server.	Using a text editor, open the existing DCF, and add names to the list of the (installed) packages to put in the SPK. Do not edit any other part of the DCF. `Packages: plyr,zoo,caret,forecast` From the R console, create the SPK. `#create the SPK to upload to the # Spotfire Server buildServerSPK("ServerSPK.dcf", "ServerSPK.spk", spkName = "Official CRAN Packages")`	The DCF with the name ServerSPK.dcf is overwritten, and the packages you manually added to the DCF are added to the SPK. The SPK `BuiltVersion` is changed to the next minor version number and is listed in the DCF. For example: `"BuiltVersion: 1.1.0.0"`
Remove a package from the existing SPK (and subsequently from Spotfire Server).	Using a text editor, open the existing DCF, and remove the unwanted package names from the list of packages. Do not edit any other part of the DCF. `Packages: plyr` From the R console, create the SPK. `#create the SPK to upload to the # Spotfire Server buildServerSPK("ServerSPK.dcf", "ServerSPK.spk", spkName = "Official CRAN Packages")`	The DCF with the name ServerSPK.dcf is overwritten, and only the packages remaining in the DCF are included in the SPK. The SPK `BuiltVersion` is changed to the next major version number and listed in the DCF. For example: `"BuiltVersion: 2.0.0.0"`
Assign a specific `BuiltVersion` number to an SPK.	From the R console, install the required packages, and then create the SPK. `#load the library containing # the tools library(SpotfireSPK) #install the required packages install.packages(c("plyr","zoo")) #create the DCF containing # the packages writeLines("Packages: plyr,zoo", "ServerSPK.dcf") #create the SPK to upload to the # Spotfire Server, #passing in the version number. #This argument is a character string or a #numeric_version object containing four components buildServerSPK("ServerSPK.dcf", "ServerSPK.spk", version="1.2.3.4")`	The DCF with the name ServerSPK.dcf is created (or overwritten if it already existed), and the packages specified in the DCF are included in the SPK. The SPK `BuiltVersion` is set to the value passed in for the argument version. For example: `"BuiltVersion: 1.2.3.4"`
Generate a new DCF with the same name.	From the R console, install the required packages, and then create the SPK. `#load the library containing # the tools library(SpotfireSPK) #install the packages to go into # the SPK install.packages(c("forecast","caret")) #create the DCF containing the # names of the installed # packages writeLines("Packages: forecast,caret", "ServerSPK.dcf") #create the SPK to upload to the # Spotfire Server buildServerSPK("ServerSPK.dcf", "ServerSPK.spk")`	Important: If you use this method to overwrite an existing DCF, the version number is still set to `1.0.0.0`; therefore, Spotfire Server does not register the package as a new one, so it does not distribute the new packages to the users. The DCF with the name ServerSPK.dcf is overwritten, and the package names listed in the `text` argument of `writeLines`, along with their required and dependent packages, are included. The packages specified are included in the SPK. The SPK `BuiltVersion` number is listed in the DCF as follows: `"BuiltVersion: 1.0.0.0"`