get_latest_release: Get the Latest Gencode Release Dynamically

In GencoDymo2: Comprehensive Analysis of 'GENCODE' Annotations and Splice Site Motifs

Get the Latest Gencode Release Dynamically

Description

This function retrieves the latest available release of the Gencode database for a given species (human or mouse) by querying the relevant FTP directory. It automates the process of identifying the latest release of annotations for human or mouse.

Usage

get_latest_release(species, verbose = TRUE)

Arguments

species	A character string indicating the species. Supported values are: "human" "mouse"
verbose	Logical. If TRUE (default), the function prints the latest release.

Details

The function accesses the GENCODE FTP directory and parses the available folders to determine the latest release. It is particularly useful for bioinformatics workflows that require up-to-date annotation files without manual checks.

Value

A character string representing the latest release version for the specified species (e.g., "release_42" for human or "release_36" for mouse).

Examples

## Not run: 
# Retrieve the latest release version for human
human_release <- get_latest_release(species = "human", verbose = FALSE)
cat("Latest human GENCODE release: release_47")

# Get the latest release for mouse
mouse_release <- get_latest_release("mouse", verbose = TRUE)

## End(Not run)

GencoDymo2 documentation built on Aug. 21, 2025, 5:54 p.m.