[SOLVED] What is the purpose difference between README and vignette in R package?

What is the purpose difference between README and vignette in R package?

I have an R package on GitHub that I am about to submit to CRAN. Up to now, the package has had an extensive README.md document that shows:

examples of package core functions execution,
examples of package demo execution,
some benchmark results.

For the purposes of GitHub users, I thought that putting these to README.md is more appealing than vignette as it shows up when a user views the package's repo.

When I am at the point of moving the package to CRAN, I would like to have pretty much the same content as currently in README.md available in a form of a vignette.

Question: is it a correct way of acting to make an almost 1-1 copy of README.md into a vignette, keep both, update GitHub repo to have this vignette as well, and then submit as such to CRAN? Or: it would pose a duplication that should not take place? (then how should I proceed?)

Solution

Yes, I think that is not uncommmon. You

have a README.md at GitHub as the 'public face' of the (source) package repo
want a package summary for which a vignette may serve well
may even end up with a package webite or summary

and the same markdown text might as well serve in all three instances.

In any event there is no rule against it. Also, in case you did not know, this would have been a good question for the dedicated and focused r-package-devel mailing list concerned with packaging.