qqman
The Manhattan-plot package for GWAS results, finished and dormant since 2017.
Comparison · Analytics
dietr vs r4ss
A side-by-side editorial comparison of dietr and r4ss — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-package
dietr vs r4ss: at a glance
What is dietr?
A fish diet package whose release history is really a record of surviving rfishbase.
dietr computes diet and trophic indices for fish from FishBase-style data, including electivity measures and composite indices. Its recent releases exist because upstream rfishbase changes repeatedly broke it — the latest pair restore functionality after a break severe enough to get the package removed from CRAN, while adding GII, MFI and Windell significance to the composite indices. The 1.1.6-1 patch restates the same notes as 1.1.6.
What is r4ss?
NOAA's Stock Synthesis toolkit renamed its columns and shook the packages built on it.
r4ss reads, writes, runs and plots Stock Synthesis fisheries models, and is the base layer for a set of NOAA assessment packages. The current release tracks SS3 3.30.23.1 with plot and reader fixes. The consequential recent change was structural: the SS_read* functions standardised their column names, which broke downstream packages and forced at least one to pin an older version.
dietr vs r4ss: editorial side-by-side
dietr
0.0ANALYTICS
A fish diet package whose release history is really a record of surviving rfishbase.
◆ Current state
dietr computes diet and trophic indices for fish from FishBase-style data, including electivity measures and composite indices. Its recent releases exist because upstream rfishbase changes repeatedly broke it — the latest pair restore functionality after a break severe enough to get the package removed from CRAN, while adding GII, MFI and Windell significance to the composite indices. The 1.1.6-1 patch restates the same notes as 1.1.6.
◆ Where it's heading
Almost every release in this window names an upstream dependency as its cause: rfishbase updates in four of them, duckdb in another. The genuine methodological additions arrive bundled inside those repair releases rather than on their own. That is a fragile position for a package whose core value is convenient access to a remote database.
◆ Prediction
The next release most likely follows the next rfishbase change; new indices will probably continue to ride along with compatibility repairs.
r4ss
0.0ANALYTICS
NOAA's Stock Synthesis toolkit renamed its columns and shook the packages built on it.
◆ Current state
r4ss reads, writes, runs and plots Stock Synthesis fisheries models, and is the base layer for a set of NOAA assessment packages. The current release tracks SS3 3.30.23.1 with plot and reader fixes. The consequential recent change was structural: the SS_read* functions standardised their column names, which broke downstream packages and forced at least one to pin an older version.
◆ Where it's heading
The project explicitly de-emphasises releases — the notes tell users to install the latest development version and treat tags as anchors for dependent packages. That has produced a rhythm of long quiet stretches punctuated by a breaking cleanup: the run-function revamp in 1.46.1, then the column renaming in 1.50.0. Ordinary releases in between are SS3 version tracking.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next tagged release to follow the next SS3 version rather than a fixed schedule, with continued incremental plotting and reader fixes.
Alternatives to dietr and r4ss
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 dietr or r4ss.
constants
The R package for CODATA constants rebuilt its symbol table on NIST's naming so future updates stop being hand work.
austraits
The R client for AusTraits spends its releases chasing the dataset it reads.
ggdemetra
A ggplot2 layer for seasonal adjustment output, filling in one plot type at a time.
fossilsim
A fossil-record simulator that quietly grew a trait-evolution engine.
tern.rbmi
Reference-based multiple imputation tables, shipping only what CRAN checks demand.
Recent activity from dietr and r4ss
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1y agodietrPatch re-release of the 1.1.6 rfishbase repair
- 1y agodietrRestores CRAN compatibility; adds GII, MFI and Windell indices
- 1y agor4ssTracks SS3 3.30.23.1 with reader and plotting fixes
- 1y agodietrrfishbase compatibility fixes
- 2y agor4ssSS_read* column names standardised in a breaking cleanup ⚡
- 3y agodietrduckdb and rfishbase compatibility fixes
- 4y agor4ssModel-running functions renamed and standardised
- 4y agor4ssCRAN release matching SS3 3.30.19.01
- 4y agodietrElectivity abundance fix invalidates some earlier results
- 4y agodietrMemory fix in diet conversion; rfishbase repair
- 5y agor4ssCompatibility release for SS3 3.30.17.00
- 6y agor4ssCompatibility release for SS3 3.30.15.00
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between dietr and r4ss?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. dietr and r4ss 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 dietr better than r4ss?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. dietr and r4ss 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 dietr?
Top dietr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "dietr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/dietr-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to r4ss?
Top r4ss alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "r4ss alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/r4ss for the full list with editorial commentary on each.