Why are tests/testthat/helper- files discouraged in testthat

Package development
4

Thank for you discussion on the referenced thread. Hadley wrote

Because we're moving away from setup.R , and you really want these helpers to be available during interactive exploration with load_all() . It's not a special file — you can put it in any file in R/ .

I agree, and that's why I liked the helper-concept because these files load on load_all. But my two main questions are not adressed:

  • This violates the concept of test/testee separation
  • All helper functions must be marked import when put into /R, they are no longer together with testthat in suggests.