paleobuddy
paleobuddy can now simulate trait-dependent diversification, not just birth-death.
Comparison · Analytics
errors vs SimInf
A side-by-side editorial comparison of errors and SimInf — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
errors vs SimInf: at a glance
What is errors?
errors keeps making uncertainty print the way each scientific field expects.
errors attaches uncertainty to numeric vectors and propagates it automatically through arithmetic, as part of the r-quantities family alongside units. The propagation core is settled; recent releases concentrate on presentation and integration — PDG rounding rules in 0.4.2, decimal support in parenthesis notation in 0.4.3, and ggplot2 deprecation tracking in 0.4.1 and 0.4.4.
What is SimInf?
SimInf 10.0 turns an epidemic simulator into a tool that fits models to real time series
SimInf simulates stochastic disease spread over networks of nodes, with a model parser that compiles user-specified transitions to C. Version 10.0.0 was a deliberate major break: the SimInf_pfilter S4 class and the bootstrap filtering interface were redesigned, a replicates slot was added to SimInf_model, a multi-particle variant of the split-step solver arrived, and the package gained Particle Markov Chain Monte Carlo fitting against observed time series. The follow-up 10.1.0 is a single zero-length memcpy fix found by CRAN's M1 checks.
errors vs SimInf: editorial side-by-side
errors
0.0ANALYTICS
errors keeps making uncertainty print the way each scientific field expects.
◆ Current state
errors attaches uncertainty to numeric vectors and propagates it automatically through arithmetic, as part of the r-quantities family alongside units. The propagation core is settled; recent releases concentrate on presentation and integration — PDG rounding rules in 0.4.2, decimal support in parenthesis notation in 0.4.3, and ggplot2 deprecation tracking in 0.4.1 and 0.4.4.
◆ Where it's heading
Two threads run through this history. One is formatting convergence: uncertainty has field-specific conventions, and the package has been absorbing them one contributed pull request at a time rather than imposing a single style. The other is keeping the errors class first-class everywhere R users work — vctrs methods for dplyr 1.0, a geom_errors() layer for ggplot2, missing-value and duplicate handling. Both are integration work, which is what a type-extension package mostly is.
◆ Prediction
Expect further formatting conventions to arrive as contributions, following PDG rounding and the decimals option, plus continued upkeep against ggplot2 aesthetic deprecations that have forced two of the last four releases.
SimInf
0.0ANALYTICS
SimInf 10.0 turns an epidemic simulator into a tool that fits models to real time series
◆ Current state
SimInf simulates stochastic disease spread over networks of nodes, with a model parser that compiles user-specified transitions to C. Version 10.0.0 was a deliberate major break: the SimInf_pfilter S4 class and the bootstrap filtering interface were redesigned, a replicates slot was added to SimInf_model, a multi-particle variant of the split-step solver arrived, and the package gained Particle Markov Chain Monte Carlo fitting against observed time series. The follow-up 10.1.0 is a single zero-length memcpy fix found by CRAN's M1 checks.
◆ Where it's heading
The package has been moving from simulation toward inference for several releases. The 9.x line built the input side — utilities for cleaning raw individual event data, variables and enumeration constants in the model parser — and 10.0.0 closed the loop by making the simulator fittable to data through PMCMC. The version number was incremented precisely because that required breaking the particle filter interface.
◆ Prediction
Fitting machinery this new usually needs a second pass on usability, so the next releases most likely focus on diagnostics and documentation around PMCMC rather than on the simulation core, which has been stable across the whole 9.x and 10.x history.
Alternatives to errors and SimInf
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 errors or SimInf.
geodist
geodist stays dependency-free and fast, and warns you when 'cheap' distances stop being honest.
CMAQ
CMAQ went global in v5.5, and has been patching that surface ever since.
enpls
enpls has not changed its statistics since 2016 — only its website, twice.
grex
grex is a lookup table with a version number — it ships when the annotation moves.
protr
protr's feature set is finished; the work now is surviving Bioconductor's churn.
See all errors alternatives → · See all SimInf alternatives →
Recent activity from errors and SimInf
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 9mo agoSimInfAvoid memcpy on zero-length continuous state vector
- 9mo agoSimInfPMCMC fitting arrives; particle filter interface redesigned ⚡
- 1y agoerrorserrors 0.4.4 replaces deprecated geom_errorbarh()
- 1y agoerrorserrors 0.4.3 supports decimals in parenthesis notation
- 2y agoerrorserrors 0.4.2 adds PDG rounding rules
- 2y agoSimInfDocumentation link anchors; parser dependency fix
- 2y agoSimInfModel parser gains variables and enumeration constants
- 2y agoSimInfindividual_events() added for raw event data cleaning
- 2y agoerrorserrors 0.4.1 handles missing values, fixes na.rm
- 3y agoSimInfConfigure script uses R to locate the compiler
- 3y agoerrorserrors 0.4.0 adds geom_errors() for automatic errorbars
- 5y agoerrorserrors 0.3.6
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between errors and SimInf?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. errors and SimInf 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 errors better than SimInf?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. errors and SimInf 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 errors?
Top errors alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "errors alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/errors-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to SimInf?
Top SimInf alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "SimInf alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/siminf-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.