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Comparison · Infra & APIs
exametrika vs sps
A side-by-side editorial comparison of exametrika and sps — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-package
exametrika vs sps: at a glance
What is exametrika?
A test-theory package that grew into a graphical-model toolkit, now spending its releases paying down the API debt that growth created.
exametrika is an R psychometrics package covering IRT, latent class/rank analysis, and biclustering, and it has been shipping features at an unusual clip for a CRAN package. The last two releases stopped adding capability and turned inward: 1.14.0 fixed a documented-but-never-implemented graphical-parameter passthrough, and 1.15.0 landed a full-codebase audit that corrected bugs which silently produced wrong results on missing data and 0-indexed polytomous codes. Argument names, orders, and defaults are now unified across the model functions, with every old name kept working behind a deprecation warning.
What is sps?
sps keeps sanding down sequential Poisson sampling rather than adding to it.
The package implements sequential Poisson sampling for survey design, covering inclusion probabilities, proportional allocation, replicate weights, and take-all strata. Recent releases are small and tightly scoped: a divisor method helper, an iterator that draws a sample one unit at a time, automatic selection of the replicate-weight parameter, and repeated performance work on inclusion probability calculation.
exametrika vs sps: editorial side-by-side
exametrika
0.0INFRA · APIS
A test-theory package that grew into a graphical-model toolkit, now spending its releases paying down the API debt that growth created.
◆ Current state
exametrika is an R psychometrics package covering IRT, latent class/rank analysis, and biclustering, and it has been shipping features at an unusual clip for a CRAN package. The last two releases stopped adding capability and turned inward: 1.14.0 fixed a documented-but-never-implemented graphical-parameter passthrough, and 1.15.0 landed a full-codebase audit that corrected bugs which silently produced wrong results on missing data and 0-indexed polytomous codes. Argument names, orders, and defaults are now unified across the model functions, with every old name kept working behind a deprecation warning.
◆ Where it's heading
The arc runs from feature sprawl to consolidation. Through 1.9.0-1.13.0 the package added polytomous biclustering plots, nominal and ordinal IRM samplers, a C++ Gibbs core, and Graphical Lasso; the cost was inconsistent interfaces and correctness bugs that only surfaced under audit. The maintainer is also visibly optimizing for two external gatekeepers — CRAN's 10-minute check budget in 1.13.1, an R Journal reviewer in 1.14.0 — which suggests the package is being groomed for formal publication rather than just iterated on.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next release to continue the deprecation cleanup started in 1.15.0, likely retiring some of the old function names that have carried warnings since 1.7.0, with new modelling work paused until the R Journal submission clears.
sps
2.5INFRA · APIS
sps keeps sanding down sequential Poisson sampling rather than adding to it.
◆ Current state
The package implements sequential Poisson sampling for survey design, covering inclusion probabilities, proportional allocation, replicate weights, and take-all strata. Recent releases are small and tightly scoped: a divisor method helper, an iterator that draws a sample one unit at a time, automatic selection of the replicate-weight parameter, and repeated performance work on inclusion probability calculation.
◆ Where it's heading
Development is consolidation rather than expansion. Most releases either speed up an existing routine or remove a decision the user previously had to make by hand, such as picking the smallest parameter that keeps replicate weights non-negative. Documentation and tooling get comparable attention to the algorithms, with a dedicated vignette on inclusion probabilities and a recent switch of test and documentation infrastructure. The API surface has been essentially stable across the window.
◆ Prediction
Expect continued small ergonomic and performance releases against the existing function set rather than new sampling designs, which is the pattern every release in this window follows.
Alternatives to exametrika and sps
Other Infra & APIs 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 exametrika or sps.
forestploter
A forest plot package that keeps handing users control of one more graphical detail.
ggInterval
Interval-valued data plotting, spending 2026 making its function names and examples survive CRAN.
rgm
A microbiome network model that got itself un-archived by deleting the dependency that killed it.
contagionchannels
Three releases in ten days, every one of them a CRAN reviewer's correction rather than a code change.
tidyaudit
Pipeline provenance for tidyverse workflows, recording what changed at each step without keeping the data.
See all exametrika alternatives → · See all sps alternatives →
Recent activity from exametrika and sps
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agospsDocumentation polish; switches to tinytest and litedown
- 1mo agoexametrikaFull-codebase audit fixes silent result corruption, unifies arguments
- 2mo agoexametrikaPlot methods finally forward the graphical parameters they documented
- 3mo agoexametrikaCRAN resubmission: slow tests skipped to fit the check budget
- 3mo agoexametrikaGraphical Lasso and Chatterjee's xi extend the package into network estimation ⚡
- 3mo agoexametrikaFrozen research baseline, never released to CRAN
- 5mo agoexametrikaNominal and ordinal IRM samplers, with generic dispatch by data type
- 9mo agospsFixes extra argument handling in sps_iterator()
- 0y agospsAdds divisor_method() and a one-unit-at-a-time sampling iterator
- 1y agospsAdds an inclusion-probability vignette and faster partial sorting
- 1y agospsAutomatic tau selection for replicate weights
- 2y agospsAdds becomes_ta() for take-all stratum sample sizes
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between exametrika and sps?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Infra & APIs. sps is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is exametrika better than sps?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. sps is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to exametrika?
Top exametrika alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "exametrika alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/exametrika for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to sps?
Top sps alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "sps alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/sps for the full list with editorial commentary on each.