← Back to home
Comparison · Infra & APIs

cofad vs squat

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

cofad vs squat: at a glance

Featurecofadsquat
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themescontrast-analysis, factorial-designs, shiny, psychology-methodsquaternions, functional-data, rotation, clustering
Last editorial update59m ago2h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is cofad?

Contrast analysis with a Shiny front end, shipping about one release a year

cofad performs contrast analyses for factorial designs in both between- and within-subject forms, and ships a Shiny GUI alongside the R interface. The 0.3.0 release in 2024 was the substantial one: a helper for calculating differences between two sets of lambdas for competing contrast analysis, improved summary output, removal of the plyr dependency, a rebuilt Shiny interface using standard elements after the sortable drag-and-drop proved unstable, and a change of maintainer to Johannes Titz. The most recent release is a one-line patch fixing degrees of freedom in the t-test table.

Read the full cofad trajectory →

What is squat?

Quaternion time series got their own statistics package, and it is still filling in the toolbox.

squat treats a sequence of rotations as a statistical object: quaternion time series with means, medians, distances, principal components and clustering defined on them rather than on the raw coordinates. Version 0.5.0 adds derived representations, turning a QTS into a smooth b-spline curve or into angular velocity and acceleration. The release cadence is roughly annual.

Read the full squat trajectory →

cofad vs squat: editorial side-by-side

C
cofad
INFRA · APIS
0.0

Contrast analysis with a Shiny front end, shipping about one release a year

◆ Current state

cofad performs contrast analyses for factorial designs in both between- and within-subject forms, and ships a Shiny GUI alongside the R interface. The 0.3.0 release in 2024 was the substantial one: a helper for calculating differences between two sets of lambdas for competing contrast analysis, improved summary output, removal of the plyr dependency, a rebuilt Shiny interface using standard elements after the sortable drag-and-drop proved unstable, and a change of maintainer to Johannes Titz. The most recent release is a one-line patch fixing degrees of freedom in the t-test table.

◆ Where it's heading

Development is slow and correctness-led. The record runs from a JOSS publication in 2021 through a near three-year gap to a release that both extended the method and repaired the GUI, then a degrees-of-freedom fix. Maintainer and author order changed in 0.3.0, which typically marks a handover rather than a burst of new work, and the cadence since is consistent with that.

◆ Prediction

Expect low-frequency correctness releases; the competing contrast analysis helper added in 0.3.0 is the most likely thing to be extended if anything is.

S
squat
INFRA · APIS
0.0

Quaternion time series got their own statistics package, and it is still filling in the toolbox.

◆ Current state

squat treats a sequence of rotations as a statistical object: quaternion time series with means, medians, distances, principal components and clustering defined on them rather than on the raw coordinates. Version 0.5.0 adds derived representations, turning a QTS into a smooth b-spline curve or into angular velocity and acceleration. The release cadence is roughly annual.

◆ Where it's heading

Each release has added either a representation or a way to compare series. First the class and the core statistical methods, then clustering algorithms and distance matrices, then quaternion algebra and axis-angle conversion, then rotation-invariant elastic distance and roll-pitch-yaw. The package is broadening the input side, so that data arriving in any of the usual rotation encodings can enter the same analysis. Dependency reduction runs alongside, with purrr and furrr swapped out for base and future.apply.

◆ Prediction

Given the pattern, the next additions are most likely further transformations and distances rather than new inference machinery. The tight coupling to fdacluster, which the notes repeatedly adapt to, means that package's API is the main external constraint on timing.

Alternatives to cofad and squat

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 cofad or squat.

See all cofad alternatives → · See all squat alternatives →

Recent activity from cofad and squat

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

  1. 7mo agosquatSmoothing, angular velocity and acceleration transforms added
  2. 1y agosquatRotation-invariant elastic distance and roll-pitch-yaw support
  3. 1y agocofadDegrees of freedom corrected in the t-test table
  4. 2y agocofadCompeting contrast helper, rebuilt Shiny GUI, maintainer change
  5. 2y agosquatQuaternion algebra and axis-angle conversion added
  6. 3y agosquatFence robustification option and correct tangent spaces
  7. 3y agosquatHierarchical and DBSCAN clustering join k-means
  8. 3y agosquatFirst API defines quaternion time series as a statistical object
  9. 4y agocofadDocumentation and references for JOSS publication
  10. 4y agocofadShiny GUI added; aggregated-data function and 0-variance fix

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between cofad and squat?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. cofad and squat 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 cofad better than squat?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. cofad and squat 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 cofad?

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

What are the best alternatives to squat?

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