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collapse vs mapSpain

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

Shared themes:r-package

collapse vs mapSpain: at a glance

FeaturecollapsemapSpain
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesdata-transformation, performance, simd, grouped-statisticsspain, administrative-boundaries, geospatial, httr2
Last editorial update1h ago1h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is collapse?

collapse got a JSS paper and a 7x fmean speedup in the same release.

collapse provides fast grouped statistical computing and data transformation for R, built on a C backend with its own grouping, hashing and aggregation primitives. The 2.1.x line is a maintenance and optimization series: SIMD multiple-accumulator work delivering roughly 2x on fsum() and 7x on fmean() for systems without OpenMP, a custom internal unlist() with better attribute preservation, and a steady stream of correctness fixes in collap(), pivot() and roworderv().

Read the full collapse trajectory →

What is mapSpain?

mapSpain's 1.0.0 broke every user cache to get the package onto modern foundations.

mapSpain provides administrative boundaries, tile providers and geographic dictionaries for Spain, pulling from GISCO, SIANE, INE and IGN sources. The 1.0.0 release in January 2026 rebuilt it: requests moved to httr2, the cache reorganized into topic-based subfolders under tools::R_user_dir() instead of rappdirs, R 4.1 became the floor, and every function now returns tidy objects. Existing caches are explicitly incompatible and must be rebuilt.

Read the full mapSpain trajectory →

collapse vs mapSpain: editorial side-by-side

C
collapse
ANALYTICS
0.0

collapse got a JSS paper and a 7x fmean speedup in the same release.

◆ Current state

collapse provides fast grouped statistical computing and data transformation for R, built on a C backend with its own grouping, hashing and aggregation primitives. The 2.1.x line is a maintenance and optimization series: SIMD multiple-accumulator work delivering roughly 2x on fsum() and 7x on fmean() for systems without OpenMP, a custom internal unlist() with better attribute preservation, and a steady stream of correctness fixes in collap(), pivot() and roworderv().

◆ Where it's heading

The package is consolidating institutionally as much as technically. The repository moved to the fastverse organization with multiple people granted access, the Journal of Statistical Software paper landed as the primary citation, and documentation now includes an AI-generated interactive layer. Technically the focus is the hashing and grouping core — the decision to treat -0 and 0 as equal across funique(), group(), fmatch(), fmode() and their derivatives was made in sync with an equivalent change in Rcpp, and accepted a measured 3% cost to get it. The last release with breaking changes sits outside this six-entry window.

◆ Prediction

Expect further targeted performance work on the grouped statistical functions and continued small correctness fixes; the governance move to fastverse suggests contribution volume rather than direction is what the maintainer is managing.

M
mapSpain
ANALYTICS
0.0

mapSpain's 1.0.0 broke every user cache to get the package onto modern foundations.

◆ Current state

mapSpain provides administrative boundaries, tile providers and geographic dictionaries for Spain, pulling from GISCO, SIANE, INE and IGN sources. The 1.0.0 release in January 2026 rebuilt it: requests moved to httr2, the cache reorganized into topic-based subfolders under tools::R_user_dir() instead of rappdirs, R 4.1 became the floor, and every function now returns tidy objects. Existing caches are explicitly incompatible and must be rebuilt.

◆ Where it's heading

The package has finished its modernization and moved into consolidation. 1.1.0 added a configurable query timeout and pinned httr2 for compatibility with giscoR, the sibling package it shares plumbing with; 1.2.0 was a declared internal-only refactor with the public API held fixed and the work described as AI-assisted with human review. The data-source expansion that characterized the 0.9.x and 0.10.x line — comarcas by type, simplified INE geometries, SIANE vintages — has paused while the foundations settle.

◆ Prediction

Expect a return to source coverage now that the refactor is done: new SIANE or INE vintages and additional boundary types are the pattern this package has repeated. The entries show no further architectural work queued.

Alternatives to collapse and mapSpain

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 collapse or mapSpain.

See all collapse alternatives → · See all mapSpain alternatives →

Recent activity from collapse and mapSpain

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

  1. 1mo agomapSpainInternal helper refactor with the public API held fixed
  2. 2mo agocollapseSIMD accumulators give fmean a 7x speedup without OpenMP
  3. 4mo agomapSpainQuery timeout becomes configurable
  4. 7mo agomapSpain1.0.0 rebuilds on httr2 and invalidates every cache
  5. 7mo agocollapseNegative zero now hashes equal to zero across the package
  6. 8mo agocollapsecollap() no longer double-aggregates external weights
  7. 9mo agocollapseCustom unlist() preserves attributes
  8. 0y agocollapseAssorted bug fixes
  9. 1y agocollapsena_insert gains by-reference mode; gsplit and pivot speed up
  10. 1y agomapSpainComarcas and simplified INE geometries added
  11. 1y agomapSpainComarca types split across four official sources
  12. 1y agomapSpainAdapted to the SIANE 2024 databases

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between collapse and mapSpain?

Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. collapse and mapSpain 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 collapse better than mapSpain?

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

Top collapse alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "collapse alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/collapse-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to mapSpain?

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