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Comparison · Infra & APIs

fio vs surveycore

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

fio vs surveycore: at a glance

Featurefiosurveycore
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesinput-output-analysis, regional-economics, rust-backend, breaking-changessurvey-statistics, variance-estimation, replicate-weights, api-stability
Last editorial update4h ago1h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is fio?

Input-output economics in R with a Rust core, now spanning multiple regions.

fio builds and analyses input-output models in R, using an R6 object for the model and Rust with the faer crate for the linear algebra behind technical coefficients and the Leontief inverse. Version 1.0.0 extended it from single-region tables to multi-regional models with spillover analysis, and 1.1.0 immediately corrected the naming and measures that release introduced, renaming shock-origin columns that had been labelled as destinations and replacing an interdependence index with spillover balance and export share.

Read the full fio trajectory →

What is surveycore?

surveycore declared its API stable with every survey design type covered.

surveycore is the estimation engine of a two-package survey stack, handling design objects and variance estimation while surveytidy supplies the dplyr verbs on top. The June release marks it 1.0.0 and states the API is complete and stable across Taylor series linearization, replicate weights, two-phase and non-probability designs, with means, totals, frequencies, quantiles, ratios, correlations, regression, t-tests, ANOVA and effective sample size all in place.

Read the full surveycore trajectory →

fio vs surveycore: editorial side-by-side

F
fio
INFRA · APIS
0.0

Input-output economics in R with a Rust core, now spanning multiple regions.

◆ Current state

fio builds and analyses input-output models in R, using an R6 object for the model and Rust with the faer crate for the linear algebra behind technical coefficients and the Leontief inverse. Version 1.0.0 extended it from single-region tables to multi-regional models with spillover analysis, and 1.1.0 immediately corrected the naming and measures that release introduced, renaming shock-origin columns that had been labelled as destinations and replacing an interdependence index with spillover balance and export share.

◆ Where it's heading

The package built its foundation first and its scope second. The 0.1.x releases were almost entirely about making a Rust-backed R package install reliably across platforms and toolchain versions, with the actual economics settled at 0.1.0. Once that was stable, 1.0.0 added the multi-regional layer in one release, and 1.1.0 shows the usual consequence of a large surface arriving at once: names and derived measures needing correction before they harden. Breaking changes are being taken freely while the multi-regional interface is young.

◆ Prediction

Expect further refinement of the multi-regional measures before the interface settles, given that 1.1.0 revised them within three months of their introduction. The Rust core makes larger multi-regional systems tractable, so extending coverage to more published multi-region tables is the obvious direction, though these entries name no specific dataset.

S
surveycore
INFRA · APIS
0.0

surveycore declared its API stable with every survey design type covered.

◆ Current state

surveycore is the estimation engine of a two-package survey stack, handling design objects and variance estimation while surveytidy supplies the dplyr verbs on top. The June release marks it 1.0.0 and states the API is complete and stable across Taylor series linearization, replicate weights, two-phase and non-probability designs, with means, totals, frequencies, quantiles, ratios, correlations, regression, t-tests, ANOVA and effective sample size all in place.

◆ Where it's heading

The last months before 1.0.0 were spent making the awkward designs behave like the ordinary ones. Non-probability designs gained jackknife replicate schemes and got their bootstrap repweights routed through the replicate-weight variance estimator in survey_glm(), matching every other estimation function. The survey_collection abstraction — several surveys treated as one pseudo-data-frame — was tightened rather than extended: divergent grouping across members now errors instead of stitching a patchwork with bind_rows(), and the missing-variable argument was renamed and given a stored default on the collection itself. A documentation audit before 1.0.0 turned up six dispatch and print bugs and corrections across forty-plus files, which is the kind of thing that surfaces when an API is being frozen rather than extended.

◆ Prediction

A declared-stable API means the next releases should be additive or corrective rather than breaking, and the pre-1.0.0 pattern of breaking renames should stop. The tight version pinning between the two packages means surveytidy releases will keep following surveycore's.

Alternatives to fio and surveycore

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 fio or surveycore.

See all fio alternatives → · See all surveycore alternatives →

Recent activity from fio and surveycore

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

  1. 2mo agosurveycoreFirst stable release: all four survey design types complete
  2. 2mo agofioSpillover columns renamed to name the shock's origin
  3. 3mo agosurveycoreget_effective_n() computes effective sample size
  4. 3mo agosurveycoreCollections error on divergent grouping; .on_missing renamed
  5. 4mo agosurveycoreCRAN patch removing surveytidy from the vignette
  6. 5mo agofioMulti-regional input-output models and spillover analysis
  7. 1y agofioToolchain fixes for R-devel and Windows linking
  8. 1y agofioSystem check scripts handle a missing Rust toolchain
  9. 1y agofioRust minimum version lowered to widen installability
  10. 2y agofioFirst release: Rust-backed input-output modelling in R

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between fio and surveycore?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. fio and surveycore 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 fio better than surveycore?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. fio and surveycore 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 Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to fio?

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

What are the best alternatives to surveycore?

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