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Comparison · Analytics
dvir vs rasterpic
A side-by-side editorial comparison of dvir and rasterpic — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
dvir vs rasterpic: at a glance
What is dvir?
dvir keeps making disaster victim identification a single call instead of a workflow.
dvir handles disaster victim identification: matching unidentified remains against reference families using pedigree likelihoods. The package has consolidated around dviSolve(), a complete pipeline introduced in 3.2.1 and rewritten in 3.3.0 to use generalised likelihood ratios for families with several missing persons. Recent releases have been about making that pipeline survive large cases, adding dviGridSize() and a maxAssign cutoff to skip joint analysis when the combination count explodes, plus per-step timings.
What is rasterpic?
rasterpic became an S3 generic and picked up stars support; the rest is upkeep
rasterpic georeferences ordinary images onto spatial objects, producing terra SpatRasters that can be plotted as basemaps or overlays. The package is small and its job is narrow. The meaningful recent change is 0.5.0, which turned rasterpic_img() into an S3 generic with methods per input class and added support for stars objects alongside sf and terra.
dvir vs rasterpic: editorial side-by-side
dvir
0.0ANALYTICS
dvir keeps making disaster victim identification a single call instead of a workflow.
◆ Current state
dvir handles disaster victim identification: matching unidentified remains against reference families using pedigree likelihoods. The package has consolidated around dviSolve(), a complete pipeline introduced in 3.2.1 and rewritten in 3.3.0 to use generalised likelihood ratios for families with several missing persons. Recent releases have been about making that pipeline survive large cases, adding dviGridSize() and a maxAssign cutoff to skip joint analysis when the combination count explodes, plus per-step timings.
◆ Where it's heading
The arc is from a toolbox of functions toward one supervised pipeline, with the older jointDVI() now emitting a legacy message. The current constraint is combinatorial: joint analysis over many victims and missing persons blows up, so the work has gone to measuring the blowup and bailing out of it. Parallelism is mid-migration, with the parallel and pbapply implementation removed and a mirai replacement stated as planned but not yet shipped, leaving numCores accepted and ignored with a warning.
◆ Prediction
The mirai-based parallelisation is announced as coming, so expect it next, most likely applied to the joint analysis step that maxAssign currently exists to avoid.
rasterpic
0.0ANALYTICS
rasterpic became an S3 generic and picked up stars support; the rest is upkeep
◆ Current state
rasterpic georeferences ordinary images onto spatial objects, producing terra SpatRasters that can be plotted as basemaps or overlays. The package is small and its job is narrow. The meaningful recent change is 0.5.0, which turned rasterpic_img() into an S3 generic with methods per input class and added support for stars objects alongside sf and terra.
◆ Where it's heading
The direction is broader input-class coverage inside the same single-function design, and tighter integration with the plotting ecosystem downstream. 0.3.0 renamed output layers to r/g/b/alpha specifically to stay compatible with tmap 4.0; 0.5.1 restored the RGB specification on masked and inverted output after it regressed, and moved errors and warnings to cli formatting. Releases are frequent but small.
◆ Prediction
With the generic in place, adding further input classes is now cheap, so that is the likely direction. The 0.5.1 regression on mask/inverse output suggests the RGB-specification path is the fragile part worth watching.
Alternatives to dvir and rasterpic
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 dvir or rasterpic.
spsurvey
spsurvey has spent four years consolidating after its 5.0.0 rewrite rather than adding to it
StreamCatTools
StreamCatTools is quietly moving off web services and onto cloud-native GeoParquet
reproducible
reproducible added a windowed read path so remote GeoTiffs never fully download
qcTAF
qcTAF is building an automated checklist for reproducible fisheries assessments, one criterion at a time
rpymat
After three dormant years, rpymat returned to fix the OpenMP crash that breaks R and conda together
See all dvir alternatives → · See all rasterpic alternatives →
Recent activity from dvir and rasterpic
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agodvirCombination sizing and a cutoff for joint analysis
- 1mo agorasterpiccli-formatted messages; RGB specification restored for masked output
- 2mo agorasterpicrasterpic_img() becomes an S3 generic with stars support
- 3mo agodvirJoint tables added to solver output
- 3mo agodvirVictim and database accessors, plus solver refinements
- 4mo agorasterpicVignettes migrated to Quarto
- 7mo agorasterpicNew logo; minimum R raised to 4.1.0
- 1y agorasterpicOutput layers renamed r/g/b/alpha for tmap 4.0 compatibility
- 1y agorasterpicOutput declared as RGB raster; unused dependencies removed
- 1y agodvirSolver rewritten around generalised likelihood ratios
- 2y agodvirdviSolve() pipeline and manual pairing controls
- 2y agodvirMaintainer handover and small reporting additions
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between dvir and rasterpic?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. dvir and rasterpic 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 dvir better than rasterpic?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. dvir and rasterpic 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 dvir?
Top dvir alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "dvir alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/dvir for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to rasterpic?
Top rasterpic alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "rasterpic alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rasterpic for the full list with editorial commentary on each.