tern.rbmi
Reference-based multiple imputation tables, shipping only what CRAN checks demand.
Comparison · Analytics
Fulcrum vs protr
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Fulcrum and protr — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Fulcrum vs protr: at a glance
| Feature | Fulcrum | protr |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Analytics | Analytics |
| Velocity score | 6.3 | 0.0 |
| Sparks · 30d | 0 | 0 |
| Top themes | gis, esri-migration, offline-maps, field-data-capture | proteomics, sequence-descriptors, bioconductor, feature-parity |
| Last editorial update | 15h ago | 1h ago |
| Website | — | Visit → |
What is Fulcrum?
Fulcrum is betting its whole map stack on Esri, with a hard Google Maps cutoff on September 1.
Fulcrum is a field data collection platform, and nearly every entry in the last month touches mapping. The web app ships weekly fix batches for layer rendering (KML/KMZ, MBTiles, ArcGIS Feature Services), while iOS and Android push near-weekly builds against the ArcGIS SDK. Feature work is thin right now; the visible surface is stabilization around a mapping engine migration already in flight.
What is protr?
protr's feature set is finished; the work now is surviving Bioconductor's churn.
protr generates numerical descriptors from protein sequences for machine learning, plus alignment-based similarity between sequences. The descriptor functions have been stable for years. Recent releases divide cleanly into two kinds: extending the similarity computations to work under memory constraints, and absorbing the Bioconductor split that moved pairwise alignment out of Biostrings into pwalign.
Fulcrum vs protr: editorial side-by-side
Fulcrum
6.3ANALYTICS
Fulcrum is betting its whole map stack on Esri, with a hard Google Maps cutoff on September 1.
◆ Current state
Fulcrum is a field data collection platform, and nearly every entry in the last month touches mapping. The web app ships weekly fix batches for layer rendering (KML/KMZ, MBTiles, ArcGIS Feature Services), while iOS and Android push near-weekly builds against the ArcGIS SDK. Feature work is thin right now; the visible surface is stabilization around a mapping engine migration already in flight.
◆ Where it's heading
The direction is a full consolidation onto Esri. The legacy Google Maps engine is being retired on September 1 with automatic migration for anyone who hasn't switched, and Esri now carries Google's satellite and street basemaps so the imagery argument is neutralized. Underneath, the mobile SDK moved to ArcGIS 300.0.0 and ONNX on-device inference was dropped for a new INFERENCE format with labels.txt support. Offline is the second thread: downloadable layers can now be updated in place rather than deleted and recreated.
◆ Prediction
Expect the weeks before September 1 to stay dominated by migration-shaped fixes and Esri feature parity work, with the MMPK layer and Photo FastFill early-access programs the most likely to graduate to general availability next.
protr
0.0ANALYTICS
protr's feature set is finished; the work now is surviving Bioconductor's churn.
◆ Current state
protr generates numerical descriptors from protein sequences for machine learning, plus alignment-based similarity between sequences. The descriptor functions have been stable for years. Recent releases divide cleanly into two kinds: extending the similarity computations to work under memory constraints, and absorbing the Bioconductor split that moved pairwise alignment out of Biostrings into pwalign.
◆ Where it's heading
The similarity side is where the remaining engineering goes, and it follows a consistent pattern — whatever parSeqSim() gained, crossSetSim() eventually gets. Batching, verbose progress and a disk-backed variant all arrived for the single-set case first and were mirrored for the cross-set case in 1.7-1. That is a maintainer closing feature-parity gaps rather than opening new directions, and the two most recent releases contain no user-facing change at all.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next release to react to another Bioconductor or R CMD check change, which accounts for three of the last four. The similarity functions now have parity, so there is no obvious internal backlog left.
Alternatives to Fulcrum and protr
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 Fulcrum or protr.
tern.mmrm
An MMRM tabulation package that has published nothing since its 2024 CRAN releases.
ggmagnify
A single-purpose ggplot2 inset tool, refining the same three arguments.
symengine
An R symbolic-maths binding whose changelog is really the C++ core's release notes.
gtfstools
gtfstools stopped guarding its own object model and started accepting everyone else's.
quantities
The glue package that makes R carry units and uncertainty through the same calculation.
See all Fulcrum alternatives → · See all protr alternatives →
Recent activity from Fulcrum and protr
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1d agoFulcrumWeb fixes: shared-view exports, MBTiles popups, KML and ArcGIS layers
- 3d agoFulcrumAndroid: update offline map layers in place, non-blocking Photo FastFill
- 4d agoFulcrumiOS fix: slow location resolution blocked record saves
- 8d agoFulcrumWeb: SSO email wording and ArcGIS/deck.gl version bumps
- 10d agoFulcrumAndroid fixes: ArcGIS stability, signature button, photo markup
- 10d agoFulcrumiOS fixes: basemap loading and black map screen
- 11mo agoprotrprotr 1.7-5 silences a Debian r-devel check note
- 1y agoprotrprotr 1.7-4 checks alignment dependencies upfront
- 1y agoprotrprotr 1.7-3 detects Biostrings version to find pwalign
- 2y agoprotrprotr 1.7-2 fixes citation key and vignette accessibility
- 2y agoprotrprotr 1.7-1 brings crossSetSim to parity with parSeqSim
- 2y agoprotrprotr 1.7-0 adds crossSetSim for two-set similarity
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Fulcrum and protr?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Fulcrum is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 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 Fulcrum better than protr?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Fulcrum is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 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 Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Fulcrum?
Top Fulcrum alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Fulcrum alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/fulcrum for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to protr?
Top protr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "protr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/protr-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.