parse.dcf {base} | R Documentation

## Parse Debian Control File Format

### Description

Parses text read from a file in Debian control file format, e.g., the ``DESCRIPTION`' or ``CONTENTS`' of a package.

### Usage

    parse.dcf(text = NULL, file = "", fields = NULL, versionfix = FALSE)

### Arguments

`text` | A character vector containing one line of the file in each element.
`file` | Name of the file to be parsed.
`fields` | A character vector of fields to return (if other fields occur in the file they are ignored.
`versionfix` | Logical, if `TRUE` than the version field is truncated at the first whitespace character.

### Value

If `fields = NULL`, a list with one element per entry is returned. Each entry is a list of character vectors, one per field. If `fields` are specified, then a character matrix with one row per entry and one column per field is returned.

### See Also

`package.contents`, `library`

### Examples

    file <- system.file("CONTENTS", pkg="mva")
    parse.dcf(file=file)

    ## same in 2 steps
    filecontent <- scan(file=file, what="", sep="\n")
    parse.dcf(text=filecontent)