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collapse vs shapviz

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

collapse vs shapviz: at a glance

Featurecollapseshapviz
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesdata-transformation, performance, simd, grouped-statisticsshap, visualization, model explainability, ggplot2
Last editorial update1h ago4h 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 shapviz?

shapviz refines its SHAP plots release by release while chasing ggplot2's moving target.

shapviz turns SHAP values from XGBoost, LightGBM, H2O, kernelshap and other sources into standard diagnostic plots — importance, dependence, waterfall, force and interaction. Recent work is plot ergonomics: shared y-axis control across dependence plots, a bar view for interaction values, and axis collection via patchwork. The two most recent releases are pure compatibility and bug fixes.

Read the full shapviz trajectory →

collapse vs shapviz: 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.

S
shapviz
ANALYTICS
0.0

shapviz refines its SHAP plots release by release while chasing ggplot2's moving target.

◆ Current state

shapviz turns SHAP values from XGBoost, LightGBM, H2O, kernelshap and other sources into standard diagnostic plots — importance, dependence, waterfall, force and interaction. Recent work is plot ergonomics: shared y-axis control across dependence plots, a bar view for interaction values, and axis collection via patchwork. The two most recent releases are pure compatibility and bug fixes.

◆ Where it's heading

Two threads run in parallel here. One is visual refinement converging on conventions from Python's shap — the 0.10.0 notes openly float switching share_y to TRUE to match it. The other is connector maintenance, keeping pace with H2O, XGBoost 1.x and 2.x, shapr and permshap as each changes. Neither thread adds new explanation methods; shapviz's job is presentation, and it is being polished rather than extended.

◆ Prediction

Expect share_y = TRUE to become the default and further ggplot2 4.x fallout, with connector updates arriving as the upstream SHAP packages release.

Alternatives to collapse and shapviz

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 shapviz.

See all collapse alternatives → · See all shapviz alternatives →

Recent activity from collapse and shapviz

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

  1. 2mo agocollapseSIMD accumulators give fmean a 7x speedup without OpenMP
  2. 7mo agocollapseNegative zero now hashes equal to zero across the package
  3. 8mo agocollapsecollap() no longer double-aggregates external weights
  4. 9mo agocollapseCustom unlist() preserves attributes
  5. 10mo agoshapvizggplot 4.0 compatibility fix
  6. 0y agocollapseAssorted bug fixes
  7. 1y agoshapvizFixes duplicated bars in sv_interaction()
  8. 1y agoshapvizggplot2 and patchwork dependency bumps
  9. 1y agoshapvizShared y-axis control and bar-style interaction plots
  10. 1y agocollapsena_insert gains by-reference mode; gsplit and pivot speed up
  11. 1y agoshapvizH2O random forests gain TreeSHAP support
  12. 1y agoshapvizFixes a broken vignette link

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between collapse and shapviz?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. collapse and shapviz 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 shapviz?

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

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