ARMA_NO_DEBUG in R package with RcppArmadillo - c++

Question

I want to disable bound checks when accessing to matrix elements in RcppArmadillo.
The documentations of Armadillo says
Armadillo can be configured via editing the file
include/armadillo_bits/config.hpp. Specific functionality can be
enabled or disabled by uncommenting or commenting out a particular
#define, listed below.
But in the context of an R package, how can I activate this directive?
I have tried to create a config.h file with
#ifndef CONFIG_LOADED
#define CONFIG_LOADED
#define ARMA_NO_DEBUG
#endif
and then including it in every .cpp file of my /src folder, but I'm not sure whether it works properly or whether there is some other way other than adding a #include "config.h"in each .cpp file.
Currently I have one .cpp (the one that contains the main algorithm) that start with:
#include "configs.h"
#include <RcppArmadillo.h>
using namespace Rcpp;
using namespace arma;
// [[Rcpp::export]]
SEXP sample_gibbs_cpp(const arma::vec& v_n, const arma::mat& W,
arma::vec h_n, double alpha = 1, double beta = 1, int iter=100,
double burnin = 0.5){
... code ...
}
And then others that are just
#include <RcppArmadillo.h>
using namespace Rcpp;
using namespace arma;
... code ...
My DESCRIPTION file:
Package: mypackage
Title: What the Package Does (one line, title case)
Version: 0.0.0.9000
Authors#R: person("First", "Last", email = "first.last#example.com", role = c("aut", "cre"))
Description: What the package does (one paragraph).
Depends:
R (>= 3.2.3)
License: What license is it under?
Encoding: UTF-8
LazyData: true
RoxygenNote: 5.0.1
Imports:
ggplot2,
dplyr,
tidyr,
rstan
LinkingTo: Rcpp, RcppArmadillo, RcppEigen
SystemRequirements: C++11
And I compile my package with:
devtools::load_all()

Answer 1

Order matters here. This #define statement must be included before the inclusion of #include<RcppArmadillo.h>
An example:
custom_config.h
#ifndef CONFIG_LOADED
#define CONFIG_LOADED
#define ARMA_NO_DEBUG
#endif
example_compiled_file.cpp
#include "custom_config.h"
#include <RcppArmadillo.h>
// [[Rcpp::export]]
void test_pkg(const arma::vec& x) {
// Should not trigger error bound checking with debug flag on.
double my_val_protected = x(0);
// Never triggers error bound checking
double my_val = x.at(0);
}
Note: As this is a package, the use of // [[Rcpp::depends(RcppArmadillo)]] is not required. Instead, you must specify RcppArmadillo and Rcpp in the LinkingTo: field of the DESCRIPTION file as well as including Rcpp in the Imports: field. You will have to minimally import from Rcpp a function (preferably: evalCpp).
e.g. DESCRIPTION must have:
Imports: Rcpp (>= 0.12.15)
LinkingTo: Rcpp, RcppArmadillo