Package name improvement?

[kadyb]

Currently there are 3 packages (lidR, lasR, rlas) with similar names that are not clear at first glance to new users. Maybe it would be worth considering emphasizing fast processing for lasR, if it is possible and it is not too late to make such change, like fastlasR or something?

[Jean-Romain]

Almost nobody knows rlas. It is exclusively used by lidR and should not be of interest to regular users. Maybe a comment on this point in the README would help.

lidR is lidR.

lasR is named similarly to lidR on purpose to emphasize that the two packages are related. I can hear that maybe it was not the best idea. Especially since lasR is a pure C++ program, and I plan to make it available also as standalone software and as a Python package or QGIS plugin, so the R is questionable. Branding is not my expertise.

I'm open to suggestions. What is your personal experience with that?

[kadyb]

I plan to make it available also as standalone software and as a Python package or QGIS plugin

Oh, great! I didn't know you had such plans.

I'm open to suggestions. What is your personal experience with that?

I would suggest bringing this issue to a wider discussion considering contributors and the community via social media. It may turn out that such a change will not be necessary or there will be some interesting suggestions. For me the differences between these packages are clear, but for new users they can be little confusing. I can write a post on Mastodon if you are interested.

[Jean-Romain]

Ok, I'm open to discussion. Feel free to contribute and discuss. I'm not saying I will change the name, but I can hear the community's arguments and change some things to keep everything clear and tidy.

Regarding this, you should know that a lot of things will change in the near future. lidR and lasR have been supported by Laval University, Québec, Canada since the beginning, using funding granted by my research programs as a PhD, Post-doc, and Research Associate. In September, I will resign from the university. To continue maintaining lidR and lasR as free and open-source tools, I will start offering consulting services, development, and training courses. The website of my conpagny is under construction, where the difference between lasR and lidR will be better explained. I plan to update the README files of lasR, lidR, rlas, and so on. I also plan to create a README for the r-lidar organization. Things are a bit messy right now, and I have a lot to deal with, but it will get tidier soon.

Oh, great! I didn't know you had such plans.

Yes, but these are not short-term projects. I'm working alone, and it requires a lot of development, but the design of lasR has been made from the beginning to be independent of R itself. R is just an API, and other APIs could exist, such as a Python package, a standalone software, or a QGIS plugin. "Could exist" means I have nothing in the box right now but it is technically possible (this is not true for lidR).

Some experimental stuff for R is coming today. Stay tuned. If it works for R it will be recycled in other non-R projects.