Define and advocate for the role of auditor packages in the R ecosystem

[ramiromagno]

We should document and advocate for the proper place of auditor packages within the R ecosystem, especially in the context of the complyr framework. This could be captured in a vignette, design note, blog post, or even a whitepaper. Key points to reflect:

Position in the R Ecosystem

1. Auditor packages are part of the infrastructure layer for compliance, alongside tools like testthat, lintr, and covr.
2. They define external, declarative standards to which other packages (method packages) declare conformity.
3. In regulated contexts (e.g., clinical trials), they complement CDISC implementations and validation efforts (e.g., R Validation Hub).
4. Should be considered compliance companions to submission workflows for regulatory agencies.

Conceptual Role

1. Act as a formalized theory of compliance.
2. Align with Popper’s falsifiability principle: they don’t prove conformity, they try to falsify it — if no test fails, compliance is provisionally accepted.
3. Promote reproducibility, trust, and transparency through rigorous, reusable validation logic.

Ecosystem Development

1. Consider the creation of a registry of auditor packages, similar to CRAN Task Views, organized by domain (e.g., clinical, finance, genomics).
2. Could be promoted in initiatives like R Consortium, phuse, OHDSI, and CDISC communities.
3. Encourage compatibility with CI/CD, GitHub Actions, and platforms like posit.cloud.
4. Reinforce FAIR principles (especially Interoperability and Reusability) via versioned and documented standards.

This issue serves as a reminder to articulate and promote the architectural and philosophical role of auditor packages, and to make their place in the R ecosystem explicit and recognized.