Importing Common Constants to R and Python I use Python for data munging, R for data analysis, and I combine both by running the munging/analysis sequentially in a Makefile. My Python and R scripts depend on various constants. I typically store my Python constants in a settings.py file, and I import this file across several Python scripts which depend on those constants. My R constants are typically not used in more than one script, so I store those constants in the script which uses them.

Some constants are shared by both the Python scripts and R scripts. Right now, I am defining them separately in R/Python files. However, it would be better if there was some way of defining constants in common across Python and R files, since this redundancy can lead to mistakes. 

What would be the best way for me to define constant in common across files? Obviously, there is the problem that these are two different languages; so, for example, a list in Python is not quite the same as a list in R. However, there might be some solution which is more elegant than simply repeating constants across files.

I believe this would be the best place for this question, but if it belongs in the Python or R StackExchanges, please let me know.
You should consider storing this sort of data into a format that is more universally accessible.  I would suggest either JSON or YAML. JSON can be readily parsed by both R and Python

Your data would look something like:

{
    "FIRST_YEAR": 1952, 
    "IV_TYPES": [
        ["p", 6], 
        ["n", 6], 
        ["w", 4]
    ]
}