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Comparison · Infra & APIs

cocoon vs metR

A side-by-side editorial comparison of cocoon and metR — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Shared themes:r-package

cocoon vs metR: at a glance

FeaturecocoonmetR
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesr-package, statistics, reporting, maintenancemeteorology, ggplot2, r-package, netcdf
Last editorial update59m ago48m ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is cocoon?

A statistics-formatting helper in maintenance mode, tracking R-devel one fix at a time

cocoon formats statistical output for manuscripts, converting model and test objects into publication-ready strings. Its surface settled early: format_stats() is a generic that dispatches on object class, introduced in 0.1.0 to supersede the earlier format_corr() and format_ttest(), and extended in 0.2.0 to cover aov, lm, glm and the lme4 and lmerTest mixed-model families. The two releases since have been single-issue compatibility fixes against changes to wilcox.test() in R-devel.

Read the full cocoon trajectory →

What is metR?

A meteorology ggplot2 extension where the netCDF reader became the main event

metR supplies meteorological and oceanographic tools for R: contour and streamline geoms, EOF decomposition, wave fitting, and ReadNetCDF() for getting gridded data in. Development has concentrated heavily on that reader. Version 0.18.0 added subsetting by dimension index, so the first or last ten timesteps can be read without knowing how many exist; 0.18.1 moved time parsing to the CFtime package; 0.18.2 added cdo operations through rcdo and reading across multiple files in parallel, and fixed a subsetting bug where nearest-gridpoint matching could return data outside the requested range entirely.

Read the full metR trajectory →

cocoon vs metR: editorial side-by-side

C
cocoon
INFRA · APIS
0.0

A statistics-formatting helper in maintenance mode, tracking R-devel one fix at a time

◆ Current state

cocoon formats statistical output for manuscripts, converting model and test objects into publication-ready strings. Its surface settled early: format_stats() is a generic that dispatches on object class, introduced in 0.1.0 to supersede the earlier format_corr() and format_ttest(), and extended in 0.2.0 to cover aov, lm, glm and the lme4 and lmerTest mixed-model families. The two releases since have been single-issue compatibility fixes against changes to wilcox.test() in R-devel.

◆ Where it's heading

The package reached feature completeness for its stated job quickly and has been in maintenance since early 2025. Both 0.2.1 and 0.3.1 address the same upstream moving part - how wilcox.test() computes exact versus asymptotic distributions in development versions of R - which is the shape of a package whose own code is stable and whose risk lives entirely in what it wraps. Nothing in the recent entries points at new statistical object types.

◆ Prediction

Further releases are likely to stay reactive, triggered by R-devel or dependency changes rather than by new formatting methods, unless a specific model class is requested.

M
metR
INFRA · APIS
0.0

A meteorology ggplot2 extension where the netCDF reader became the main event

◆ Current state

metR supplies meteorological and oceanographic tools for R: contour and streamline geoms, EOF decomposition, wave fitting, and ReadNetCDF() for getting gridded data in. Development has concentrated heavily on that reader. Version 0.18.0 added subsetting by dimension index, so the first or last ten timesteps can be read without knowing how many exist; 0.18.1 moved time parsing to the CFtime package; 0.18.2 added cdo operations through rcdo and reading across multiple files in parallel, and fixed a subsetting bug where nearest-gridpoint matching could return data outside the requested range entirely.

◆ Where it's heading

Two threads run through the releases. The first is tracking ggplot2, absorbing the linewidth aesthetic, the trans to transform rename and guide compatibility as each landed upstream. The second is narrowing scope while deepening the data path: GetSMNData() was made defunct as too specific for a general package, raster and gdal dependencies were removed, and the udunits2 dependency was dropped when it was orphaned, initially replaced by a homebrewed date parser and eventually by CFtime. The result is a package steadily shedding its own code in favour of specialised upstream libraries.

◆ Prediction

Expect further ReadNetCDF() work, since it has received features in four of the last five releases and the rcdo integration opens a large surface of operations to expose.

Alternatives to cocoon and metR

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 cocoon or metR.

See all cocoon alternatives → · See all metR alternatives →

Recent activity from cocoon and metR

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 1mo agococoonTest fix for wilcox.test changes in R-devel
  2. 7mo agometRSubset notation fix in the netCDF reader
  3. 11mo agometRcdo operations, parallel multi-file reads, and a subsetting correctness fix
  4. 11mo agococoonSuppress an R-devel warning in htest testing
  5. 1y agometRnetCDF time parsing handed to the CFtime package
  6. 1y agometRnetCDF subsetting by dimension index
  7. 1y agometRLongitude scales pass the transform argument correctly
  8. 1y agococoonformat_stats gains regression and mixed-model methods
  9. 1y agococoonformat_stats generic supersedes the per-test formatters
  10. 1y agococoonPre-release tag of the 0.1.0 contents
  11. 1y agometREOF rotation takes a function, and scope narrows

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between cocoon and metR?

Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Infra & APIs. cocoon and metR 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 cocoon better than metR?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. cocoon and metR 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 Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to cocoon?

Top cocoon alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "cocoon alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/cocoon for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to metR?

Top metR alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "metR alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/metr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.