RMVMR
RMVMR is being tidied in lockstep with MVMR, the package it wraps
Comparison · Analytics
filtro vs socialmixr
A side-by-side editorial comparison of filtro and socialmixr — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r package
filtro vs socialmixr: at a glance
What is filtro?
filtro moves to S7 and multiplies its feature-scoring methods in a single release.
filtro supplies feature-selection filter scores for the tidymodels stack. Version 0.2.0 adds five scoring methods — correlation, random forest importance, information gain, ROC AUC and cross tabulation — and moves the package from S3 to S7. It also gains a ranking layer: show_best_score_* and rank_best_score_* helpers for a single score, plus desirability-function helpers for optimising across several scores at once.
What is socialmixr?
socialmixr breaks its one-shot contact_matrix() call into a composable pipeline.
socialmixr builds age-structured social contact matrices from survey data for infectious-disease modelling. Version 0.6.0 replaces the monolithic contact_matrix() entry point with a chain of composable steps — filter, assign age groups, weigh, compute, then symmetrise, split or convert per capita — behind a new contact_matrix S3 class. Survey downloading is being handed off to a separate contactsurveys package.
filtro vs socialmixr: editorial side-by-side
filtro
0.0ANALYTICS
filtro moves to S7 and multiplies its feature-scoring methods in a single release.
◆ Current state
filtro supplies feature-selection filter scores for the tidymodels stack. Version 0.2.0 adds five scoring methods — correlation, random forest importance, information gain, ROC AUC and cross tabulation — and moves the package from S3 to S7. It also gains a ranking layer: show_best_score_* and rank_best_score_* helpers for a single score, plus desirability-function helpers for optimising across several scores at once.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is being built out on two axes at once — the catalogue of scores, and the machinery for choosing between them. The desirability functions are the more telling half, since they assume users will filter on several criteria rather than one. Adopting S7 while still pre-1.0 suggests the object model is being settled before the API is frozen.
◆ Prediction
Expect more scoring methods on the same S7 interface and a 1.0 release once the score and ranking APIs stop moving; the ranking helpers' naming is the most likely thing to change first.
socialmixr
0.0ANALYTICS
socialmixr breaks its one-shot contact_matrix() call into a composable pipeline.
◆ Current state
socialmixr builds age-structured social contact matrices from survey data for infectious-disease modelling. Version 0.6.0 replaces the monolithic contact_matrix() entry point with a chain of composable steps — filter, assign age groups, weigh, compute, then symmetrise, split or convert per capita — behind a new contact_matrix S3 class. Survey downloading is being handed off to a separate contactsurveys package.
◆ Where it's heading
The arc from 0.4.0 to 0.6.0 is decomposition: first extracting helpers like assign_age_groups(), then moving downloads out of the package, and now exposing every stage of matrix construction as its own verb. Breaking changes are accepted at each step — preserved empty age groups, arrays instead of xtabs, [N,Inf) labels — with the new class inheriting from list so existing $matrix access keeps working. The label change is explicitly aligned with the contactmatrix package.
◆ Prediction
Expect the deprecated dotted argument names and the remaining in-package download paths to be removed once the contactsurveys handoff completes, leaving contact_matrix() as a thin wrapper over the pipeline.
Alternatives to filtro and socialmixr
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 filtro or socialmixr.
geoarrow-r
geoarrow tracks the GeoArrow spec and otherwise just keeps compiling
n2khab
n2khab keeps retracting interpretations of habitat data it can't actually support
tidypolars
tidypolars is grinding toward complete dplyr coverage, one supported function at a time
OneSampleMR
OneSampleMR found that argument order in a formula was silently changing its estimates
bpbounds
bpbounds found the same swapped-cell bug twice and clamped its bounds back into range
See all filtro alternatives → · See all socialmixr alternatives →
Recent activity from filtro and socialmixr
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 3mo agosocialmixrContact matrices become a composable pipeline ⚡
- 6mo agosocialmixrPatch: load_survey() handles files without cont_id
- 6mo agosocialmixrAge-group assignment and population lookup split out
- 11mo agofiltroFive new filter scores and the move to S7 ⚡
- 11mo agofiltroDevelopment build: score transformation handling
- 1y agosocialmixrFaster survey loading and cached Zenodo lookups
- 2y agosocialmixrcontact_matrix() now takes survey objects only
- 2y agosocialmixrTest fixes for machine-precision failures
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between filtro and socialmixr?
Both compete on the same themes — r package — within Analytics. filtro and socialmixr 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 filtro better than socialmixr?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. filtro and socialmixr 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 filtro?
Top filtro alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "filtro alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/filtro-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to socialmixr?
Top socialmixr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "socialmixr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/socialmixr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.