SimpleSDMPolygons
The purpose of this package is to get polygon data for use in biogeography work, retrieve them from online locations, and store them locally in a central location to avoid data duplication. Datasets are downloaded upon request, and only the required files are downloaded.
The package is built around two "pillars":
An interface based on traits, which specifies where the data live (remotely and locally), what the shape of the data is, and which keyword arguments are usable to query the data.
A type system to identify which datasets are accessible through various providers.
The combination of the interface and the type system means that adding a new dataset is relatively straightforward, and in particular that there is minimal need to write dataset-specific code to download the files (beyond specifying where the data lives, and what metadata properties to extract from it).
The purpose of the documentation is to (i) provide a high-level overview of how to get data from a user point of view, (ii) list the datasets that are accessible for users through the package alongside their most important features and (iii) give a comprehensive overview of the way the interface works, to facilitate the addition of new data sources.