title: R + Shiny which hammer? straight Shiny, flexdashboard or shinydashboard?
body: <p>At the risk of getting hit with a <a href="http://www.nintendojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/art_donkeykong_jumpman.jpg" rel="noreferrer">mods "too broad a question" hammer</a>, I want to ask given the plethora of interactive R <code>Shiny</code> tools and packages emerging, when do you use which one?</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li><p><strong>Shiny</strong> - to me only downside your project needs to run from shiny server but seems the best choice.</p></li>
  <li><p><strong>shinydashboard</strong> - Shiny but has nice Value boxes for callouts. </p></li>
  <li><p><strong>flexdashboard</strong> - write it up in Rmd. What does that gain you that straight Shiny does not? Perhaps, useful to email to a client provided you are happy to pass over data? I have been playing around with <code>flexdashboard</code> but its inability to work with datatable (library(DT)) makes me feel like it needs a few more iterations.</p></li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>Looking at other answers, I am not alone in <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/a/37354017/4606130">asking this question</a>.</p>
  
  <p>The creators are providing lots of galleries out there to showcase their packages/approach, but how do you know which path to go on? </p>
  
  <p>What are the clear advantages of using one over the other?</p>