cIRT
A choice-based IRT model published once in 2019 and kept compiling ever since
Comparison · Analytics
common vs SSN2
A side-by-side editorial comparison of common and SSN2 — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-package
common vs SSN2: at a glance
What is common?
A base-R utility belt that grows one small function at a time, on no particular schedule
common collects small helpers that base R leaves out — data frame labelling and sorting, infix operators for pasting and equality, UTF-8 superscript and subscript lookups, file and directory search, attribute copying between data frames. It has no dependencies to speak of and deliberately removed the one it had. In practice it is the shared substrate for its author's wider package family, and its source.all() function is maintained specifically to cooperate with the logr logging package.
What is SSN2?
Stream-network spatial models learning to run on data that no longer fits in memory
SSN2 fits spatial statistical models on stream networks, where covariance follows flow-connected distance along the network rather than straight-line distance. It is the maintained successor to the original SSN package, published through JOSS in 2024, and leans on spmodel for its underlying model machinery. Recent releases have concentrated on the constraint that binds this class of model hardest: the distance matrix.
common vs SSN2: editorial side-by-side
common
0.0ANALYTICS
A base-R utility belt that grows one small function at a time, on no particular schedule
◆ Current state
common collects small helpers that base R leaves out — data frame labelling and sorting, infix operators for pasting and equality, UTF-8 superscript and subscript lookups, file and directory search, attribute copying between data frames. It has no dependencies to speak of and deliberately removed the one it had. In practice it is the shared substrate for its author's wider package family, and its source.all() function is maintained specifically to cooperate with the logr logging package.
◆ Where it's heading
The pattern is accretion rather than direction: each release adds a couple of utilities and fixes whatever the last batch broke, with gaps of a year or more between them. Function additions cluster around whatever the author's other packages needed at the time — file search, attribute preservation, group-boundary detection, script sourcing. The 2025 release continues exactly this, extending the infix comparison operators from equality alone to the full set of relational tests.
◆ Prediction
Expect more of the same shape — a handful of small helpers whenever a sibling package needs them — with no sign in these entries of a broader API push.
SSN2
0.0ANALYTICS
Stream-network spatial models learning to run on data that no longer fits in memory
◆ Current state
SSN2 fits spatial statistical models on stream networks, where covariance follows flow-connected distance along the network rather than straight-line distance. It is the maintained successor to the original SSN package, published through JOSS in 2024, and leans on spmodel for its underlying model machinery. Recent releases have concentrated on the constraint that binds this class of model hardest: the distance matrix.
◆ Where it's heading
The first year was about establishing credibility and interoperability — a JOSS review, geopackage import support, deprecation of the SSN-to-SSN2 bridge, marginal means through emmeans. The 2025 releases turn to scale, moving distance matrices onto disk via filematrix and routing estimation and prediction through the local approximation. The 0.4.0 default change is the visible consequence: the neighbourhood size rises from 100 to 200, buying accuracy now that the surrounding machinery can afford it.
◆ Prediction
With the large-data path established and its default just retuned, the next work most likely tightens that approximation further or extends it to the model classes the local argument does not yet cover.
Alternatives to common and SSN2
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 common or SSN2.
MetaboAnalystR
The R engine behind MetaboAnalyst closes the gap from raw spectra to biological interpretation
fmtr
Rebuilding SAS's formatting layer in R, one format specification at a time
betaselectr
Standardised coefficients for models where standardising everything is wrong — but the feed only links out
BiocManager
Bioconductor's installer, frozen at 1.30.x and tuned almost entirely through environment variables
dcurves
Decision curve analysis, settled since 2022 and now moving only when its neighbours do
Recent activity from common and SSN2
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 8mo agocommonFull set of relational infix operators added
- 9mo agoSSN2Local neighbourhood default doubled to 200
- 10mo agoSSN2partition_factor regression fixed, spmodel floor raised
- 0y agoSSN2On-disk distance matrices lift the large-data ceiling
- 1y agoSSN2Numeric stability fix for beta-family models
- 2y agoSSN2Geopackage import support and the JOSS review release
- 2y agoSSN2Snapshot tag marking JOSS acceptance
- 2y agocommonsource.all() fixed to cooperate with logr
- 2y agocommonsource.all() added for sourcing a directory of scripts
- 2y agocommonchanged() fixed for single-value input
- 2y agocommonchanged() identifies grouping boundaries
- 3y agocommonthis.path() dependency removed
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between common and SSN2?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. common and SSN2 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 common better than SSN2?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. common and SSN2 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 common?
Top common alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "common alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/common for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to SSN2?
Top SSN2 alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "SSN2 alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/ssn2 for the full list with editorial commentary on each.