STACAS
Single-cell batch correction that learned to use cell labels, then spent three releases chasing Seurat.
Comparison · Analytics
gdverse vs gghighlight
A side-by-side editorial comparison of gdverse and gghighlight — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
gdverse vs gghighlight: at a glance
What is gdverse?
gdverse is turning geographical detector methods into inference, not just point estimates.
A geographical detector toolkit for spatial stratified heterogeneity, shipping small numbered releases every few months. Recent work centres on statistical rigour: confidence intervals for the q-statistic (experimental in 1.3-2, made more robust in 1.6), reported significance for interaction detection, and a fix for stratification collision in that same interaction path. The rest is Python-interop maintenance — reticulate compatibility, parallel stability in cpd_disc, and dependency configuration.
What is gghighlight?
A single-purpose ggplot2 extension that has spent six years tracking ggplot2 instead of growing.
gghighlight adds one verb to ggplot2: highlight the series matching a predicate and grey out the rest, with unhighlighted_params controlling how the shadowed layer renders and calculate_per_facet deciding whether the predicate evaluates within facets. The API settled at 0.2.0; the 0.5.0 release supports ggplot2 v4.0 including its ink and paper theme elements, and finally deletes gghighlight_point() and gghighlight_line().
gdverse vs gghighlight: editorial side-by-side
gdverse
0.0ANALYTICS
gdverse is turning geographical detector methods into inference, not just point estimates.
◆ Current state
A geographical detector toolkit for spatial stratified heterogeneity, shipping small numbered releases every few months. Recent work centres on statistical rigour: confidence intervals for the q-statistic (experimental in 1.3-2, made more robust in 1.6), reported significance for interaction detection, and a fix for stratification collision in that same interaction path. The rest is Python-interop maintenance — reticulate compatibility, parallel stability in cpd_disc, and dependency configuration.
◆ Where it's heading
The arc is from computing detector statistics to qualifying them. Confidence intervals, significance reporting and non-centrality parameter estimation are all about telling users how much to trust a q-value, which is the gap between a research script and a package other people cite. The Python-dependency work is the recurring tax on that: several releases exist mainly to keep reticulate-backed models passing checks.
◆ Prediction
Expect the experimental q-statistic confidence intervals to be promoted to a stable, documented interface across the detector family, since the last two releases have both worked on their robustness and reporting.
gghighlight
0.0ANALYTICS
A single-purpose ggplot2 extension that has spent six years tracking ggplot2 instead of growing.
◆ Current state
gghighlight adds one verb to ggplot2: highlight the series matching a predicate and grey out the rest, with unhighlighted_params controlling how the shadowed layer renders and calculate_per_facet deciding whether the predicate evaluates within facets. The API settled at 0.2.0; the 0.5.0 release supports ggplot2 v4.0 including its ink and paper theme elements, and finally deletes gghighlight_point() and gghighlight_line().
◆ Where it's heading
Two threads run through the history. One is a slow deprecation, from soft-deprecating the geom-specific functions at 0.1.0, to defunct at 0.3.0, to removed at 0.5.0 — a five-year removal cycle. The other is compatibility work: purrr 1.0.0, dplyr's across() deprecation, ggplot2 3.4.0, then 4.0. Genuine feature additions are rare and small, with line_label_type at 0.4.0 the last one. Note that 0.3.2's notes restate 0.3.1's n() item, so adjacent tags here overlap rather than each describing distinct work.
◆ Prediction
The next release most likely absorbs further ggplot2 4.x changes, given that is what triggered the last three. Nothing in the entries points to a new highlighting capability.
Alternatives to gdverse and gghighlight
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 gdverse or gghighlight.
ggtrace
A debugger for ggplot2's internals, hardening its grip as the internals it traces keep moving.
kde1d
A univariate density estimator that added zero-inflated data and reopened its C++ API to do it.
svines
Stationary vine copulas for time series, released in lockstep with the rest of Nagler's vine stack.
rtrek
A Star Trek data package that became a Memory Alpha web client and has been patching scrapers ever since.
eiaapi
A thin EIA energy-data client whose whole story is making bulk queries survive the API's limits.
See all gdverse alternatives → · See all gghighlight alternatives →
Recent activity from gdverse and gghighlight
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 6mo agogdverseInteraction detection reports significance; stratification collision fixed
- 10mo agogdversePython examples wrapped to stop CRAN check failures
- 10mo agogdversecpd_disc refactored for parallel stability and reticulate compatibility
- 1y agogghighlightggplot2 v4.0 support; geom-specific functions removed
- 1y agogdverseAdds package citation metadata
- 1y agogdverseExperimental confidence intervals for the q statistic
- 1y agogdversePlot method bug fixes across four detector models
- 2y agogghighlightTest expectations updated for upcoming ggplot2
- 3y agogghighlightline_label_type adds geomtextpath and second-axis labelling
- 4y agogghighlightDeprecated dplyr::across() usage removed
- 5y agogghighlightExplicit NULL in unhighlighted_params preserved; aesthetic name clash fixed
- 5y agogghighlightDiscrete-scale labels and n() predicates
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between gdverse and gghighlight?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. gdverse and gghighlight 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 gdverse better than gghighlight?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. gdverse and gghighlight 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 gdverse?
Top gdverse alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "gdverse alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/gdverse for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to gghighlight?
Top gghighlight alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "gghighlight alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/gghighlight for the full list with editorial commentary on each.