tidytlg
A tables-listings-graphs package that reached CRAN and then went quiet.
Comparison · Analytics
charlatan vs hoardr
A side-by-side editorial comparison of charlatan and hoardr — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-packageropensci
charlatan vs hoardr: at a glance
What is charlatan?
R's fake-data generator rebuilt its provider hierarchy so contributors can add one locale without touching the rest.
charlatan generates realistic fake data — names, addresses, phone numbers, jobs, internet artefacts — across many locales, following the same model as faker in Python and Perl. The 0.6.1 release reworked the provider class hierarchy so locale-specific providers inherit from a parent, and 0.6.2 since has been a documentation rebuild that happened to surface a duplicate Norwegian phone number pattern. Activity is sparse and bursty.
What is hoardr?
A cache-directory helper that has shipped nothing but CRAN-triggered patches for seven years.
hoardr manages local cache directories for other R packages — where files go, how they are keyed, whether they exist. It underpins caching in several rOpenSci data clients. The last functional additions were in 2018; everything since is a patch issued because CRAN reported a test failure or the maintainer changed.
charlatan vs hoardr: editorial side-by-side
charlatan
0.0ANALYTICS
R's fake-data generator rebuilt its provider hierarchy so contributors can add one locale without touching the rest.
◆ Current state
charlatan generates realistic fake data — names, addresses, phone numbers, jobs, internet artefacts — across many locales, following the same model as faker in Python and Perl. The 0.6.1 release reworked the provider class hierarchy so locale-specific providers inherit from a parent, and 0.6.2 since has been a documentation rebuild that happened to surface a duplicate Norwegian phone number pattern. Activity is sparse and bursty.
◆ Where it's heading
The package's value scales with locale coverage, and its releases track that: early versions added data-type providers, middle versions added locales one contributor at a time, and 0.6.1 attacked the bottleneck by restructuring the class hierarchy so a locale can override a single function. Development has effectively been handed to contributors, with maintainer releases reduced to docs rebuilds and CRAN compliance.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next substantive release to be an accumulation of contributed locales and providers arriving through the new parent-provider structure, rather than maintainer-driven feature work.
hoardr
0.0ANALYTICS
A cache-directory helper that has shipped nothing but CRAN-triggered patches for seven years.
◆ Current state
hoardr manages local cache directories for other R packages — where files go, how they are keyed, whether they exist. It underpins caching in several rOpenSci data clients. The last functional additions were in 2018; everything since is a patch issued because CRAN reported a test failure or the maintainer changed.
◆ Where it's heading
This is infrastructure that has reached its final shape. Three of the last three releases were reactive: two responses to CRAN test-failure notifications, one to a maintainer handover. The single behavioural change in that stretch — forward slashes in paths on every operating system — is a consistency fix for downstream packages rather than a feature. Its release cadence is set by CRAN's checks, not by demand.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next release to be triggered by another CRAN check failure rather than by new functionality, matching every release since 2018.
Alternatives to charlatan and hoardr
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 charlatan or hoardr.
Tplyr
Tplyr made clinical summary tables explain where every number came from.
rlistings
Clinical listings that keep inheriting their hardest problem — pagination — from the layer below.
gigs
gigs redesigned its whole conversion API for rOpenSci, then spent three releases getting the docs to build.
riem
A weather-data client that keeps rewriting its HTTP layer while slowly tightening its API.
datasetjson
datasetjson rebuilt its object model to track the CDISC Dataset-JSON 1.1 schema.
See all charlatan alternatives → · See all hoardr alternatives →
Recent activity from charlatan and hoardr
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 7mo agocharlatanDocs rebuild surfaces a duplicate Norwegian phone pattern
- 1y agohoardrPaths use forward slashes on every platform
- 1y agocharlatanProvider classes restructured so locales can override single functions ⚡
- 2y agohoardrTest-only patch for a CRAN failure
- 3y agohoardrPatch release for maintainer handover
- 6y agocharlatanNew locales and providers; allowed_locales() added
- 7y agohoardrFixes cache paths leaking between HoardClient instances
- 7y agocharlatanLocale naming standardised; French and Danish data corrected
- 7y agohoardrFile-existence checks and full-path cache configuration
- 8y agocharlatancharlatan v0.2.2
- 8y agocharlatanSix new providers broaden charlatan beyond names and addresses
- 9y agohoardrCRAN disk-writing policy compliance
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between charlatan and hoardr?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package, ropensci — within Analytics. charlatan and hoardr 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 charlatan better than hoardr?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. charlatan and hoardr 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 charlatan?
Top charlatan alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "charlatan alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/charlatan for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to hoardr?
Top hoardr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "hoardr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/hoardr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.