There's a semantic error in a function of an R package written by someone else. I contacted that person which is mentioned in the 'DESCRIPTION' file of the package over email, and there is no response. But, I need to move forward with my project.
Is it possible for me to correct that error and check-in the change of that project ? If that's not possible, should I write my own version of the function with the correction and call it? What would be the best way to move forward ? Thanks.
The only way to update that particular package on CRAN is to contact the package maintainer. But you can just obtain the package's sources (you can fork it from CRAN readonly mirror on a github), fix it your way and source changed .R files after loading the package (or build entire package from sources if your fixes are in C++ code). I've done it many times. If your changes may be useful to the community, you're encouraged to create your own package.