tidytlg
A tables-listings-graphs package that reached CRAN and then went quiet.
Comparison · Analytics
forcis vs USAboundaries
A side-by-side editorial comparison of forcis and USAboundaries — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
forcis vs USAboundaries: at a glance
What is forcis?
A foraminifera data-access package whose entire release history is the rOpenSci review process.
forcis provides R access to the FORCIS database of planktonic foraminifera occurrences. All three releases in the window are review milestones rather than feature work: first stable release, the release answering rOpenSci reviewer comments, and a post-CRAN-review polish. Release notes point at NEWS.md rather than enumerating changes.
What is USAboundaries?
Seven years dormant, then two releases dragging every census boundary from 2020 to 2024
USAboundaries supplies contemporary and historical US boundary data — states, counties, congressional districts, cities, ZIP code tabulation areas — as sf objects, with the bulk data held in a companion USAboundariesData package. After a gap running from 2018 to late 2025, two releases a month apart refreshed the contemporary census vintage from 2020 to 2024: 0.5.0 covered everything except states, and 0.5.1 finished the job.
forcis vs USAboundaries: editorial side-by-side
forcis
0.0ANALYTICS
A foraminifera data-access package whose entire release history is the rOpenSci review process.
◆ Current state
forcis provides R access to the FORCIS database of planktonic foraminifera occurrences. All three releases in the window are review milestones rather than feature work: first stable release, the release answering rOpenSci reviewer comments, and a post-CRAN-review polish. Release notes point at NEWS.md rather than enumerating changes.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is moving from research artifact to reviewed, distributable infrastructure — submitted to rOpenSci at 0.1.0, integrated review feedback at 1.0.0, cleared CRAN at 1.0.1. That arc is complete, so the next phase should be the first release driven by users rather than reviewers.
◆ Prediction
With review and CRAN acceptance both behind it, the next release is most likely to track upstream FORCIS database changes or add query conveniences; the entries themselves say nothing about planned features.
USAboundaries
0.0ANALYTICS
Seven years dormant, then two releases dragging every census boundary from 2020 to 2024
◆ Current state
USAboundaries supplies contemporary and historical US boundary data — states, counties, congressional districts, cities, ZIP code tabulation areas — as sf objects, with the bulk data held in a companion USAboundariesData package. After a gap running from 2018 to late 2025, two releases a month apart refreshed the contemporary census vintage from 2020 to 2024: 0.5.0 covered everything except states, and 0.5.1 finished the job.
◆ Where it's heading
For a data package the release cycle is the data vintage, and the 0.3.0 split into a separate data package was designed precisely so those refreshes would not require a code release. That the 2024 update still arrived as two package versions seven years later says the mechanism is being used sparingly. Nothing in the feed shows work on the API itself since us_cities() gained an sf return type and a states argument in 2018.
◆ Prediction
The next release is most likely another vintage refresh when the census data moves again, rather than new geographies or functions. The split of 0.5.0 and 0.5.1 suggests state boundaries are handled on a separate path from the rest and may lag again.
Alternatives to forcis and USAboundaries
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 forcis or USAboundaries.
Tplyr
Tplyr made clinical summary tables explain where every number came from.
rlistings
Clinical listings that keep inheriting their hardest problem — pagination — from the layer below.
hoardr
A cache-directory helper that has shipped nothing but CRAN-triggered patches for seven years.
gigs
gigs redesigned its whole conversion API for rOpenSci, then spent three releases getting the docs to build.
riem
A weather-data client that keeps rewriting its HTTP layer while slowly tightening its API.
See all forcis alternatives → · See all USAboundaries alternatives →
Recent activity from forcis and USAboundaries
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 9mo agoUSAboundariesState boundaries updated to the 2024 census vintage
- 10mo agoUSAboundariesCensus data refreshed to 2024, states excepted
- 1y agoforcisPost-CRAN-review example and practice cleanup
- 1y agoforcis1.0.0 incorporates rOpenSci review feedback
- 1y agoforcisFirst stable release, submitted to rOpenSci
- 8y agoUSAboundariesus_cities() returns sf and gains a states argument
- 9y agoUSAboundariesData split into a companion package; all boundaries become sf ⚡
- 9y agoUSAboundariesContemporary state, county and district boundaries added
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between forcis and USAboundaries?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. forcis and USAboundaries 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 forcis better than USAboundaries?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. forcis and USAboundaries 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 forcis?
Top forcis alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "forcis alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/forcis for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to USAboundaries?
Top USAboundaries alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "USAboundaries alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/usaboundaries for the full list with editorial commentary on each.