Run wikit with outsider in R

Search and look up summaries of Wikipedia articles.

This outsider module was developed to demonstrate how any kind of program can be wrapped into a module.

Easy to install

library(outsider)
#> ----------------
#> outsider v 0.1.0
#> ----------------
#> - Security notice: be sure of which modules you install
module_install(repo = "dombennett/om..wikit")
#> -----------------------------------------------------
#> Warning: You are about to install an outsider module!
#> -----------------------------------------------------
#> Outsider modules install and run external programs
#> via Docker <https://www.docker.com>. These external
#> programs may communicate with the internet and could
#> potentially be malicious.
#> 
#> Be sure to know the module you are about to install:
#> Is it from a trusted developer? Are colleagues using
#> it? Is it supposed to download lots of data? Is it
#> well used (e.g. check number of stars on GitHub)?
#> -----------------------------------------------------
#>  Module information
#> -----------------------------------------------------
#> program: wikit
#> details: Fetch topic summaries from Wikipedia
#> docker: dombennett
#> github: dombennett
#> url: https://github.com/dombennett/om..wikit
#> image: dombennett/om_wikit
#> container: om_wikit
#> package: om..wikit
#> Travis CI: Passing
#> -----------------------------------------------------
#> Enter any key to continue or press Esc to quit
#module_help(repo = "dombennett/om..wikit")

Look up Wikipedia summaries from within R

library(outsider)
wikit <- module_import(fname = 'wikit', repo = 'dombennett/om..wikit')
# see all examples
dinosaur_summary <- wikit('dinosaur', ncols = 80)
cat(dinosaur_summary)
#>  Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared
#>  during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago, although the
#>  exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is the subject of active research.
#>  They became the dominant terrestrial vertebrates after the Triassic–Jurassic extinction
#>  event 201.3 million years ago; their dominance continued through the Jurassic and
#>  Cretaceous periods. The fossil record demonstrates that birds are modern feathered
#>  dinosaurs, having evolved from earlier theropods during the Late Jurassic epoch.
#>  As such, birds were the only dinosaur lineage to survive the Cretaceous–Paleogene
#>  extinction event approximately 66 million years ago. Dinosaurs can therefore be
#>  divided into avian dinosaurs, or birds; and non-avian dinosaurs, which are all dinosaurs
#>  other than birds. Dinosaurs are a varied group of animals from taxonomic, morphological
#>  and ecological standpoints. Birds, at over 10,000 living species, are the most diverse
#>  group of vertebrates besides perciform fish. Using fossil evidence, paleontologists
#>  have identified over 500 distinct genera and more than 1,000 different species of
#>  non-avian dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are represented on every continent by both extant
#>  species (birds) and fossil remains. Through the first half of the 20th century,
#>  before birds were recognized to be dinosaurs, most of the scientific community believed
#>  dinosaurs to have been sluggish and cold-blooded. Most research conducted since
#>  the 1970s, however, has indicated that all dinosaurs were active animals with elevated
#>  metabolisms and numerous adaptations for social interaction. Some were herbivorous,
#>  others carnivorous. Evidence suggests that all dinosaurs were egg-laying; and that
#>  nest-building was a trait shared by many dinosaurs, both avian and non-avian. While
#>  dinosaurs were ancestrally bipedal, many extinct groups included quadrupedal species,
#>  and some were able to shift between these stances. Elaborate display structures
#>  such as horns or crests are common to all dinosaur groups, and some extinct groups
#>  developed skeletal modifications such as bony armor and spines. While the dinosaurs'
#>  modern-day surviving avian lineage (birds) are generally small due to the constraints
#>  of flight, many prehistoric dinosaurs (non-avian and avian) were large-bodied—the
#>  largest sauropod dinosaurs are estimated to have reached lengths of 39.7 m and heights
#>  of 18 m and were the largest land animals of all time. Still, the idea that non-avian
#>  dinosaurs were uniformly gigantic is a misconception based in part on preservation
#>  bias, as large, sturdy bones are more likely to last until they are fossilized.
#>  Many dinosaurs were quite small: Xixianykus, for example, was only about 50 cm long.
#>  Since the first dinosaur fossils were recognized in the early 19th century, mounted
#>  fossil dinosaur skeletons have been major attractions at museums around the world,
#>  and dinosaurs have become an enduring part of world culture. The large sizes of
#>  some dinosaur groups, as well as their seemingly monstrous and fantastic nature,
#>  have ensured dinosaurs' regular appearance in best-selling books and films, such
#>  as Jurassic Park. Persistent public enthusiasm for the animals has resulted in significant
#>  funding for dinosaur science, and new discoveries are regularly covered by the 
#>  media.

Key arguments

Note: the wikit function only has three arguments (topic, lang and ncol). Other flags described in the command-line wikit program are not avaialble.

• topic: What’s the topic? E.g. “rabbit” or “KitKats in Japan”
• lang: Which Wikipedia language version? Default English.
• ncol: Column width of the returned text summary

Links

Learn more by visiting Wikit’s homepage

If citing ….

• Kory Schneider (2020) Wikit: Wikipedia summaries from the command line.
• Bennett et al. (2020). outsider: Install and run programs, outside of R, inside of R. Journal of Open Source Software, In review

An outsider module

Learn more at outsider website. Want to build your own module? Check out outsider.devtools website.