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Comparison · Analytics

fabletools vs maplegend

A side-by-side editorial comparison of fabletools and maplegend — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Shared themes:r-package

fabletools vs maplegend: at a glance

Featurefabletoolsmaplegend
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesforecasting, tidyverts, model-combination, reconciliationcartography, legends, base-graphics, spatial
Last editorial update1h ago1h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is fabletools?

The tidyverts forecasting core rebuilt model combination on full residual covariance.

fabletools is the framework layer under fable and fpp3 — mables, fables, accuracy measures, reconciliation, and the model arithmetic that lets forecasters express ensembles as expressions. Version 0.8.0 reworked that arithmetic: combination now uses a joint N-way convolution accounting for the full residual covariance across components rather than composing pairwise, and every arithmetic operator collapses to a single model_combination with correctly implied weights, so nested expressions like ((m1 + m2)/2 + m3)/2 flatten automatically. In parallel, the package has been shedding graphics to {ggtime} on a deliberately slow deprecation clock.

Read the full fabletools trajectory →

What is maplegend?

The legend engine mapsf spun out, now covering legend types the parent map package can draw.

maplegend draws the legends for base-R thematic maps, extracted from mapsf so both packages could evolve the legend vocabulary independently. It has been catching up to the map types it has to serve: 0.6.0 added choro_point, choro_line, and choro_symb for choropleth legends rendered on circles, lines, and symbols, following the histogram legend type in 0.4.0. Considerable effort has gone into behaving correctly when the plot aspect ratio is not 1, which required refactoring most of the package in 0.4.0 and still produced a proportional-symbol segment sizing fix in 0.6.3.

Read the full maplegend trajectory →

fabletools vs maplegend: editorial side-by-side

F
fabletools
ANALYTICS
0.0

The tidyverts forecasting core rebuilt model combination on full residual covariance.

◆ Current state

fabletools is the framework layer under fable and fpp3 — mables, fables, accuracy measures, reconciliation, and the model arithmetic that lets forecasters express ensembles as expressions. Version 0.8.0 reworked that arithmetic: combination now uses a joint N-way convolution accounting for the full residual covariance across components rather than composing pairwise, and every arithmetic operator collapses to a single model_combination with correctly implied weights, so nested expressions like ((m1 + m2)/2 + m3)/2 flatten automatically. In parallel, the package has been shedding graphics to {ggtime} on a deliberately slow deprecation clock.

◆ Where it's heading

The framework is being narrowed and deepened at the same time. Narrowed, because plotting is moving out to a dedicated package over an announced two-year deprecation, leaving fabletools to modeling infrastructure. Deepened, because the recent statistical work targets correctness in places users could not easily inspect — combination weights, inverse-variance weighting computed on response rather than innovation residuals, reconciliation coherency matrices exposed via coherent_smat() and coherent_cmat(). Class hygiene follows the same instinct, with mdl_lst replacing lst_mdl and gaining augment(), glance(), and tidy() so global and reconciliation models report statistics like any other.

◆ Prediction

With combination and reconciliation infrastructure freshly reworked, the remaining announced work is the ggtime separation, so expect the graphics re-exports to keep degrading toward removal while modeling changes stay incremental.

M
maplegend
ANALYTICS
0.0

The legend engine mapsf spun out, now covering legend types the parent map package can draw.

◆ Current state

maplegend draws the legends for base-R thematic maps, extracted from mapsf so both packages could evolve the legend vocabulary independently. It has been catching up to the map types it has to serve: 0.6.0 added choro_point, choro_line, and choro_symb for choropleth legends rendered on circles, lines, and symbols, following the histogram legend type in 0.4.0. Considerable effort has gone into behaving correctly when the plot aspect ratio is not 1, which required refactoring most of the package in 0.4.0 and still produced a proportional-symbol segment sizing fix in 0.6.3.

◆ Where it's heading

This is a support library whose backlog is defined by its caller. Every legend type mapsf can produce needs a matching legend renderer, and the release notes are dominated by spacing, offset, and border details — box_cex for symbol spacing, NA box placement in horizontal choropleth legends, text overflow when no_data is set. The shared vocabulary with mapsf is being maintained deliberately, with val_rnd, val_big, and val_dec propagating through legend types release by release. Version numbering is not monotonic in this feed, with 0.4.0 published seconds after 0.5.0.

◆ Prediction

Expect the remaining combined map types to acquire matching legends and the val_* formatting arguments to reach the types that still lack them.

Alternatives to fabletools and maplegend

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 fabletools or maplegend.

See all fabletools alternatives → · See all maplegend alternatives →

Recent activity from fabletools and maplegend

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 1mo agofabletoolsModel combination rebuilt on joint N-way convolution
  2. 2mo agomaplegendContinuous legend formatting and aspect-ratio segment fix
  3. 3mo agofabletoolsCoherency matrices exposed, mdl_lst gains tidier methods
  4. 4mo agomaplegendChoropleth legends on points, lines and symbols
  5. 5mo agofabletoolsGraphics methods now require fabletools to be attached
  6. 6mo agofabletoolsTime series graphics migrating out to ggtime
  7. 7mo agomaplegendPackage-wide refactor for non-unity aspect ratios, histogram legends
  8. 7mo agomaplegendSingle-modality legends allowed for typo, symb and prop_line
  9. 8mo agofabletoolsggplot2 4.0.0 compatibility patch
  10. 8mo agofabletoolsIRF() generic and multivariate bootstrap sample paths
  11. 1y agomaplegendAlpha transparency and redraw on device resize
  12. 1y agomaplegendOffset and symbol sizing aligned with mapsf

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between fabletools and maplegend?

Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. fabletools and maplegend 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 fabletools better than maplegend?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. fabletools and maplegend 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 fabletools?

Top fabletools alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "fabletools alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/fabletools for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to maplegend?

Top maplegend alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "maplegend alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/maplegend for the full list with editorial commentary on each.