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Single-cell batch correction that learned to use cell labels, then spent three releases chasing Seurat.
Comparison · Analytics
arcgisutils vs TLF-Library
A side-by-side editorial comparison of arcgisutils and TLF-Library — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
arcgisutils vs TLF-Library: at a glance
What is arcgisutils?
The R-ArcGIS plumbing layer grew a portal administration API and geoprocessing job support.
arcgisutils is the foundation of the R interface to ArcGIS — token handling, standardized httr2 request construction, and conversion between Esri JSON and R types for the packages built on top of it. Version 0.4.0 in October 2025 broadened it well past that role, adding functions to enumerate a portal's federated servers, users and resources, search content with automatic pagination, and submit geoprocessing jobs through new S7 classes. Token management has been on its current footing since 0.2.0, which moved tokens into an internal environment supporting multiple named keys.
What is TLF-Library?
The Open Systems Pharmacology plotting layer spent 2025 absorbing a ggplot2 major break.
tlf is the plotting library behind Open Systems Pharmacology's tables, listings and figures — a ggplot2 wrapper producing the PK/PD reporting output the OSP suite generates. Recent work splits into two strands: a feature set adding Lower Limit Of Quantification annotation to time-profile and observed-vs-predicted plots alongside a reworked axis-limits API, and then hot fixes to survive ggplot2 v4.0.0's breaking changes. The axis change is the substantive one, separating cropping the view from filtering the data behind it.
arcgisutils vs TLF-Library: editorial side-by-side
arcgisutils
0.0ANALYTICS
The R-ArcGIS plumbing layer grew a portal administration API and geoprocessing job support.
◆ Current state
arcgisutils is the foundation of the R interface to ArcGIS — token handling, standardized httr2 request construction, and conversion between Esri JSON and R types for the packages built on top of it. Version 0.4.0 in October 2025 broadened it well past that role, adding functions to enumerate a portal's federated servers, users and resources, search content with automatic pagination, and submit geoprocessing jobs through new S7 classes. Token management has been on its current footing since 0.2.0, which moved tokens into an internal environment supporting multiple named keys.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is expanding from request plumbing into direct coverage of the ArcGIS Enterprise administrative and geoprocessing surface, which is a different kind of work from what it existed to support. Much of the new surface is marked experimental, so the shape is still being settled. Alongside the expansion runs steady API tidying — three deprecations and two functions removed outright in the same release, one of which dropped the dbplyr dependency.
◆ Prediction
The experimental sharing-API and URL-parsing functions are the most likely to change or firm up next, and the geoprocessing classes suggest job execution will be built out further. Given this package sits beneath arcgislayers, the deprecations introduced here will need a corresponding pass downstream.
TLF-Library
0.0ANALYTICS
The Open Systems Pharmacology plotting layer spent 2025 absorbing a ggplot2 major break.
◆ Current state
tlf is the plotting library behind Open Systems Pharmacology's tables, listings and figures — a ggplot2 wrapper producing the PK/PD reporting output the OSP suite generates. Recent work splits into two strands: a feature set adding Lower Limit Of Quantification annotation to time-profile and observed-vs-predicted plots alongside a reworked axis-limits API, and then hot fixes to survive ggplot2 v4.0.0's breaking changes. The axis change is the substantive one, separating cropping the view from filtering the data behind it.
◆ Where it's heading
The library is maturing into a stable reporting dependency rather than growing new plot types — the newest releases are watermark placement, log-tick safety and upstream compatibility, not new figures. Its exposure is to ggplot2: v4.0.0 required same-day hot fixes, which is the risk profile of a wrapper this thin. Note that this feed's version numbers and publication stamps disagree, with 1.5.170 stamped four months before the lower-numbered 1.5.158, so the release order has to be read from version numbers and the changelog ranges rather than from the feed order.
◆ Prediction
With the ggplot2 v4 fallout patched and the LLOQ work promoted to a stable 1.6 line, the next releases most likely continue as small rendering fixes. Nothing in these entries points to a new plot class in progress.
Alternatives to arcgisutils and TLF-Library
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 arcgisutils or TLF-Library.
ggtrace
A debugger for ggplot2's internals, hardening its grip as the internals it traces keep moving.
kde1d
A univariate density estimator that added zero-inflated data and reopened its C++ API to do it.
svines
Stationary vine copulas for time series, released in lockstep with the rest of Nagler's vine stack.
gghighlight
A single-purpose ggplot2 extension that has spent six years tracking ggplot2 instead of growing.
rtrek
A Star Trek data package that became a Memory Alpha web client and has been patching scrapers ever since.
See all arcgisutils alternatives → · See all TLF-Library alternatives →
Recent activity from arcgisutils and TLF-Library
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 9mo agoTLF-LibraryWatermark positioning decoupled from plot scales
- 10mo agoarcgisutilsPortal administration and geoprocessing jobs join the utility layer ⚡
- 11mo agoTLF-LibraryHot fixes for ggplot2 v4.0.0 breaking changes
- 11mo agoTLF-LibraryLLOQ annotation and axis cropping split from data filtering
- 1y agoTLF-LibraryDev build introducing LLOQ plots and the xAxisLimits rename
- 1y agoTLF-LibraryError-bar cap fixes atop a restated feature list
- 1y agoarcgisutilsIntegers no longer encoded as floats in feature updates
- 1y agoTLF-LibraryDual-axis plots stop tripping cowplot
- 2y agoarcgisutilsFirst stable release rebuilds token handling around a token store
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between arcgisutils and TLF-Library?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. arcgisutils and TLF-Library 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 arcgisutils better than TLF-Library?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. arcgisutils and TLF-Library 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 arcgisutils?
Top arcgisutils alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "arcgisutils alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/arcgisutils for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to TLF-Library?
Top TLF-Library alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "TLF-Library alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/tlf-library for the full list with editorial commentary on each.