BioInstaller: a comprehensive R package to construct interactive and reproducible biological data analysis...

Area of Science:

• Bioinformatics
• Computational Biology
• Data Science

Background:

• The growing number of bioinformatics tools and databases presents challenges for users developing reproducible biological data analysis applications.
• Existing solutions may lack flexibility or comprehensive resource management capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce BioInstaller, an open-source R package designed to streamline the creation of interactive and reproducible biological data analysis applications.
• To provide a flexible framework for collecting, managing, and sharing diverse bioinformatics resources.

Main Methods:

• Development of an R package (BioInstaller) comprising R functions, a Shiny application, RESTful APIs, and a Docker image.
• Integration of extendible Shiny application with TOM (Tom's Obvious, Minimal Language) and SQLite databases for data management.
• Provision of source code and Docker image for accessibility and ease of use.

Main Results:

• BioInstaller offers a comprehensive solution for managing bioinformatics resources.
• The package facilitates the construction of interactive and reproducible biological data analysis workflows.
• Availability of BioInstaller through GitHub, CRAN, and DockerHub enhances accessibility for researchers.

Conclusions:

• BioInstaller addresses the challenge of managing diverse bioinformatics resources for reproducible data analysis.
• The package provides a flexible and user-friendly platform for the bioinformatics community.
• Open-source availability and containerization promote wider adoption and application in biological research.