epiflows
epiflows has shipped four releases in eight years, none of which changed the code.
Comparison · Analytics
EpiNow2 vs inbospatial
A side-by-side editorial comparison of EpiNow2 and inbospatial — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-package
EpiNow2 vs inbospatial: at a glance
What is EpiNow2?
EpiNow2 unified its model interface, then went back to deepen the estimators behind it
EpiNow2 estimates reproduction numbers, infections and delay distributions from incomplete epidemiological reporting data. 1.8.0 was the structural turning point: every main modelling function now returns a consistent S3 object with `fit`, `args` and `observations`, reachable through shared accessors. The releases either side of it work on estimator quality — accumulation of irregularly reported data in 1.7.0, and a substantial expansion of `estimate_truncation()` in 1.9.0.
What is inbospatial?
A thin R wrapper over Flemish geospatial services, adding one standard at a time
inbospatial gives R users direct access to Flemish and Belgian government spatial services without hand-writing request URLs. Three releases over three years have built it up service by service: WMS and WMTS tile shorthands and projection-distortion utilities first, then the Flanders digital elevation model, and now OGC API Features querying plus layer discovery for WCS services. Much of each release is hardening the MHT-file parsing that these services return.
EpiNow2 vs inbospatial: editorial side-by-side
EpiNow2
0.0ANALYTICS
EpiNow2 unified its model interface, then went back to deepen the estimators behind it
◆ Current state
EpiNow2 estimates reproduction numbers, infections and delay distributions from incomplete epidemiological reporting data. 1.8.0 was the structural turning point: every main modelling function now returns a consistent S3 object with `fit`, `args` and `observations`, reachable through shared accessors. The releases either side of it work on estimator quality — accumulation of irregularly reported data in 1.7.0, and a substantial expansion of `estimate_truncation()` in 1.9.0.
◆ Where it's heading
The package spent this window paying down interface debt and is now extending from the tidier base. Options that existed only for `estimate_infections()` have been propagated outward: `estimate_truncation()` gained the full `dist_spec` delay families, `obs_opts()` observation model selection between Poisson and negative binomial, and the `likelihood` and `return_likelihood` settings that make prior-only fits and loo-compatible output possible. Hardcoded assumptions are being replaced by specifiable ones in the same motion — the truncation model's additive noise term was a fixed `sigma ~ normal(0, 1)` prior and is now a `dist_spec` argument.
◆ Prediction
Expect the remaining modelling functions to keep converging on the shared options interface, since the last two releases have each moved another function onto it. A new `estimate_dist()` for interval-censored linelist data suggests delay estimation is the area still gaining surface.
inbospatial
0.0ANALYTICS
A thin R wrapper over Flemish geospatial services, adding one standard at a time
◆ Current state
inbospatial gives R users direct access to Flemish and Belgian government spatial services without hand-writing request URLs. Three releases over three years have built it up service by service: WMS and WMTS tile shorthands and projection-distortion utilities first, then the Flanders digital elevation model, and now OGC API Features querying plus layer discovery for WCS services. Much of each release is hardening the MHT-file parsing that these services return.
◆ Where it's heading
The package grows by absorbing one more service standard per release rather than by adding abstraction. The 0.1.0 additions point the same way — get_feature_ogc() covers a newer OGC standard alongside the existing WCS and WFS paths, and get_wcs_layers() addresses the practical problem that you cannot query a coverage without first knowing what layers exist. Release cadence is slow and driven by which service the maintainers needed next.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next release to add another regional service endpoint or extend OGC API Features coverage, on a timescale of a year or more given the gaps between the three releases so far.
Alternatives to EpiNow2 and inbospatial
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 EpiNow2 or inbospatial.
lpjmlkit
The LPJmL toolkit finally reads NetCDF, closing a gap against the format its field uses.
survminer
survminer is back after a five-year gap, and spending it cutting dependencies loose.
stockplotr
A stock-assessment plotting package is growing a table engine to match its figures.
xts
xts is finished software, and its releases now track R's C API more than user requests.
rjwsacruncher
A thin R wrapper around a Java seasonal-adjustment tool, slowly absorbing the setup work.
See all EpiNow2 alternatives → · See all inbospatial alternatives →
Recent activity from EpiNow2 and inbospatial
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agoEpiNow2estimate_truncation gains full delay and observation options
- 4mo agoinbospatialOGC API Features querying and WCS layer discovery arrive
- 6mo agoEpiNow2Unified return objects and shared accessors across all models ⚡
- 1y agoEpiNow2Patch for an upstream rstan issue
- 1y agoEpiNow2Accumulation for irregularly reported data; unified priors
- 1y agoinbospatialFlanders digital elevation model becomes queryable
- 1y agoEpiNow2Matern kernel spectral density fix and GP prior revert
- 1y agoEpiNow2Gaussian Process model improvements and explicit defaults
- 2y agoinbospatialWMS and WMTS shorthands plus projection distortion utilities
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between EpiNow2 and inbospatial?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. EpiNow2 and inbospatial 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 EpiNow2 better than inbospatial?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. EpiNow2 and inbospatial 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 EpiNow2?
Top EpiNow2 alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "EpiNow2 alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/epinow2 for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to inbospatial?
Top inbospatial alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "inbospatial alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/inbospatial for the full list with editorial commentary on each.