get_latest_reptile_download: Get Latest Reptile Database Download Link

Description

This function retrieves the most recent download link for reptile database files from the Reptile Database website. It searches for files from the current year first, and if none are found, searches for files from the previous year.

Usage

get_latest_reptile_download(
  base_url = "http://www.reptile-database.org/data/",
  current_year = as.numeric(format(Sys.Date(), "%Y")),
  file_types = c("xls", "xlsx", "zip"),
  return_info = FALSE
)

Value

If return_info = FALSE, returns a character string with the URL of the most recent file, or NULL if no suitable file is found. If return_info = TRUE, returns a list containing:

url: Character. The complete URL of the file
filename: Character. The name of the file
file_type: Character. The file extension
extraction_date: Date. The date when the link was extracted
source_page: Character. The source webpage URL

Returns NULL if no suitable file is found or if an error occurs during web scraping.

Arguments

base_url: Character string. The base URL of the reptile database data page. Default is "http://www.reptile-database.org/data/".
current_year: Numeric. The current year to search for files. Default is the current system year.
file_types: Character vector. File extensions to search for. Default is c("xls", "xlsx", "zip").
return_info: Logical. If TRUE, returns a list with detailed information about the found file. If FALSE, returns only the URL. Default is FALSE.

Details

The function performs web scraping on the specified URL to find download links. It prioritizes files from the current year, but will fall back to the previous year if no current year files are available.

The function requires the following packages: rvest, dplyr, and stringr. These packages must be installed before using this function.

Examples

Run this code

# \donttest{
# Get just the URL - requires internet connection
url <- get_latest_reptile_download()

# Get detailed information
info <- get_latest_reptile_download(return_info = TRUE)

# Search for specific file types
zip_url <- get_latest_reptile_download(file_types = "zip")

# Search for files from a specific year
url_2024 <- get_latest_reptile_download(current_year = 2024)
# }