metatools
SDTM supplemental-qualifier merging got sturdier, then the package went quiet for two years.
Comparison · Analytics
admiralpeds vs FedData
A side-by-side editorial comparison of admiralpeds and FedData — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
admiralpeds vs FedData: at a glance
What is admiralpeds?
admiralpeds has shipped nothing but documentation for four releases running.
The paediatric extension to admiral provides growth-parameter derivations against WHO and CDC metadata. Across its last four releases the notes contain no new functions and no changed derivations — the entries are vignettes, website theming, badges, an LLM documentation widget, lint configuration and a roclet migration to admiraldev.
What is FedData?
FedData has spent two major versions migrating US federal geodata off R's retiring spatial stack.
FedData downloads and standardises US federal geospatial datasets — NLCD, NHD, NED, SSURGO, Daymet, GHCN, PAD-US, NASS — into consistent R objects. Two breaking majors define the current package: 3.0.0 moved returns to sf and raster and pulled data from cloud-optimised GeoTIFFs, and 4.0.0 finished the job by dropping sp and raster entirely for terra and sf. Recent releases are dataset refreshes, most recently PAD-US 4.0.
admiralpeds vs FedData: editorial side-by-side
admiralpeds
0.0ANALYTICS
admiralpeds has shipped nothing but documentation for four releases running.
◆ Current state
The paediatric extension to admiral provides growth-parameter derivations against WHO and CDC metadata. Across its last four releases the notes contain no new functions and no changed derivations — the entries are vignettes, website theming, badges, an LLM documentation widget, lint configuration and a roclet migration to admiraldev.
◆ Where it's heading
Development has moved almost entirely into the shared pharmaverse infrastructure: subject test data went out to pharmaversesdtm, lint configuration and the custom admiral roclets moved to admiraldev, and the website now follows the same PR-triggered build workflow as its sibling packages. What is left in the package itself is the growth derivations, which have not changed in these entries.
◆ Prediction
On this evidence the growth-derivation surface is considered complete; the next release is more likely to track an admiraldev or admiral change than to add a derivation.
FedData
0.0ANALYTICS
FedData has spent two major versions migrating US federal geodata off R's retiring spatial stack.
◆ Current state
FedData downloads and standardises US federal geospatial datasets — NLCD, NHD, NED, SSURGO, Daymet, GHCN, PAD-US, NASS — into consistent R objects. Two breaking majors define the current package: 3.0.0 moved returns to sf and raster and pulled data from cloud-optimised GeoTIFFs, and 4.0.0 finished the job by dropping sp and raster entirely for terra and sf. Recent releases are dataset refreshes, most recently PAD-US 4.0.
◆ Where it's heading
The package tracks two moving targets at once: the R spatial stack, which it has now fully migrated onto terra and sf, and the federal agencies whose URLs, file naming and hosting keep shifting. With the dependency migration finished, releases have shrunk to single-dataset updates such as annual NLCD and PAD-US 4.0, which suggests the structural work is done and the ongoing cost is data-source maintenance.
◆ Prediction
Expect continued small releases pinned to new vintages of the underlying federal datasets, plus fixes when an agency moves or reformats a source; no further dependency-level upheaval is visible in these entries.
Alternatives to admiralpeds and FedData
Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either admiralpeds or FedData.
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logrx
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lobstr
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GSODR
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giscoR
giscoR's 1.0 moved its dataset index into the cache, so new Eurostat releases arrive without a package update.
See all admiralpeds alternatives → · See all FedData alternatives →
Recent activity from admiralpeds and FedData
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agoadmiralpedsTemplates vignette and website tooling updates
- 6mo agoadmiralpedsAsk AI widget and roclet-driven documentation
- 11mo agoadmiralpedsDocumentation site and licensing housekeeping
- 1y agoFedDataget_padus() updated to PAD-US 4.0
- 1y agoadmiralpedsADVS template aligned with admiral; test data moved out
- 1y agoFedDataAnnual NLCD access added; get_nass() retired
- 2y agoFedDatasp and raster dropped; everything returns terra or sf ⚡
- 3y agoFedDataGHCN moves to https; NHD handles empty and odd geometries
- 3y agoFedDataAll raster writing moves to terra
- 3y agoFedDataVersion 3 rebuilds on sf and cloud-optimised GeoTIFFs ⚡
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between admiralpeds and FedData?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. admiralpeds and FedData are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is admiralpeds better than FedData?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. admiralpeds and FedData are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to admiralpeds?
Top admiralpeds alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "admiralpeds alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/admiralpeds for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to FedData?
Top FedData alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "FedData alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/feddata for the full list with editorial commentary on each.