pr2database
The protist reference database keeps widening past the rRNA gene it was built on.
Comparison · Infra & APIs
artoo vs usmap
A side-by-side editorial comparison of artoo and usmap — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
artoo vs usmap: at a glance
What is artoo?
artoo makes any-to-any clinical dataset conversion lossless by construction.
artoo reads and writes SAS XPORT, CDISC Dataset-JSON, NDJSON, Parquet and RDS around one canonical metadata model, so a conversion between any two formats carries labels, CDISC types, lengths, display formats, controlled-terminology references and sort keys intact. It is pure R with no SAS or Java runtime. It reached CRAN at 0.1.1 and has spent 0.1.2 and 0.1.3 on the character-encoding edges.
What is usmap?
Ten years in, US mapping splits its data out and finally adds Puerto Rico.
usmap plots US state and county maps in an Alaska- and Hawaii-inset projection and joins user data to them by FIPS code. Over the last two years it has been rebuilt underneath: the map data moved out to a companion usmapdata package, the geometry became sf, and a data_year parameter lets a plot match the vintage of the data being plotted. Version 1.0.0 marks ten years of the project and adds Puerto Rico across every function.
artoo vs usmap: editorial side-by-side
artoo
2.5INFRA · APIS
artoo makes any-to-any clinical dataset conversion lossless by construction.
◆ Current state
artoo reads and writes SAS XPORT, CDISC Dataset-JSON, NDJSON, Parquet and RDS around one canonical metadata model, so a conversion between any two formats carries labels, CDISC types, lengths, display formats, controlled-terminology references and sort keys intact. It is pure R with no SAS or Java runtime. It reached CRAN at 0.1.1 and has spent 0.1.2 and 0.1.3 on the character-encoding edges.
◆ Where it's heading
Recent work is all about text that does not survive a format change. 0.1.3 adds an invalid_encoding dimension to artoo_checks() that flags bytes which are not valid UTF-8 before a writer aborts on them, accepts the SAS OEM/DOS encoding names, and gives the writers on_invalid = "translit" and "fold" so smart punctuation and accented characters resolve to pinned ASCII instead of failing. The fold tables ship as data specifically so the result is identical on every platform, which is the same determinism argument behind C-locale row sorting in 0.1.0.
◆ Prediction
The new WLATIN1-to-UTF-8 migration article and the width warning on write_xpt() point the next attention at length and truncation semantics rather than at additional formats. These notes name no further target format.
usmap
0.0INFRA · APIS
Ten years in, US mapping splits its data out and finally adds Puerto Rico.
◆ Current state
usmap plots US state and county maps in an Alaska- and Hawaii-inset projection and joins user data to them by FIPS code. Over the last two years it has been rebuilt underneath: the map data moved out to a companion usmapdata package, the geometry became sf, and a data_year parameter lets a plot match the vintage of the data being plotted. Version 1.0.0 marks ten years of the project and adds Puerto Rico across every function.
◆ Where it's heading
The package has separated what it draws from how it draws, and that separation is what makes the recent releases possible: annual map vintages ship in usmapdata without touching usmap, and Puerto Rico could be backfilled into every existing year at once. The remaining work is coverage and defaults rather than architecture, and the Puerto Rico exclusion default is already governed by an environment variable rather than a code change.
◆ Prediction
Expect the annual map vintage to keep arriving through usmapdata, with usmap itself changing only where a new territory or a projection default needs handling.
Alternatives to artoo and usmap
Other Infra & APIs 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 artoo or usmap.
ggalign
Composable aligned layouts, rebuilt on S7 while ggplot2 4.0 lands underneath.
prioritizr
Conservation planning absorbs the literature's target-setting rules as code.
jSDM
Joint species distribution models in Gibbs-sampled C++, quiet since 2023.
rsofun
An ecosystem model starts tracking carbon isotopes and land-use change.
trackeR
Fitness-tracking analysis in slow maintenance, still absorbing upstream breakage.
Recent activity from artoo and usmap
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 28d agoartooEncoding checks and translit/fold modes for the writers
- 1mo agoartoonoLD check fix; codec unchanged
- 2mo agoartooInitial CRAN release after resubmission
- 2mo agoartooLossless any-to-any CDISC dataset conversion in pure R ⚡
- 11mo agousmapPuerto Rico added across every usmap function and map year
- 1y agousmapdata_year parameter threaded through the plotting functions
- 2y agousmapPopulation and poverty data refreshed; ggplot2 3.5 legend fix
- 2y agousmapMap data becomes sf; usmap_transform() returns geometry ⚡
- 2y agousmapDocumentation links updated
- 2y agousmapMap data extracted to a companion usmapdata package ⚡
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between artoo and usmap?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. artoo is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is artoo better than usmap?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. artoo is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to artoo?
Top artoo alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "artoo alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/artoo for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to usmap?
Top usmap alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "usmap alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/usmap for the full list with editorial commentary on each.