Can I gracefully include formatted SQL strings in an R script?

Question

I\'m working in an R script that uses a long SQL string, and I would like to keep the query relatively free of other markup so as to allow copying and pasting between editor

Answer 1

A graceful way of "including" a long SQL query is to keep it in a separate .sql file. Preferably somewhere it can be syntax highlighted, a text file in RStudio will do the job. You can then in your main R script read the file into a string and populate it with variables using one of the many "named" sprintf-type solutions, such as infuser.

.sql

select *
from mytable
where id = {{a}} 
and somevar = {{b}}

.R

library(readr)
library(infuser)

query <- read_file("query.sql") %>%
         infuse(a = 1, b = 2)