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Comparison · Infra & APIs

ggalign vs ordinalsimr

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

ggalign vs ordinalsimr: at a glance

Featureggalignordinalsimr
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesggplot2, layout, heatmaps, s7ordinal-data, shiny, simulation, statistical-tests
Last editorial update4h ago2h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is ggalign?

Composable aligned layouts, rebuilt on S7 while ggplot2 4.0 lands underneath.

ggalign composes multiple ggplots against a shared observation ordering, covering heatmap annotation, oncoplots, phylogenies and circular layouts. Releases have come roughly monthly through 2025, first completing the layout system, then migrating the internals to S7 and absorbing the ggplot2 4.0 changes. The alignment machinery is now exported for other packages to build on.

Read the full ggalign trajectory →

What is ordinalsimr?

A Shiny app for choosing the right ordinal test reached CRAN in a single 90-minute burst of tags.

ordinalsimr compares ordinal endpoints by simulation — you specify probability distributions, sample sizes and iterations, and it runs the candidate statistical tests against them so you can see which behaves best. It is delivered as a Shiny application with a data-entry grid, and its entire release history spans six days in January 2025: three tags inside 90 minutes on the 20th, then a CRAN-compliance release on the 26th.

Read the full ordinalsimr trajectory →

ggalign vs ordinalsimr: editorial side-by-side

G
ggalign
INFRA · APIS
0.0

Composable aligned layouts, rebuilt on S7 while ggplot2 4.0 lands underneath.

◆ Current state

ggalign composes multiple ggplots against a shared observation ordering, covering heatmap annotation, oncoplots, phylogenies and circular layouts. Releases have come roughly monthly through 2025, first completing the layout system, then migrating the internals to S7 and absorbing the ggplot2 4.0 changes. The alignment machinery is now exported for other packages to build on.

◆ Where it's heading

Two threads run in parallel. One widens what can be aligned, with sector facets, ideograms, image point shapes and observation linking. The other keeps rebuilding the foundation, with the S7 migration, repeated renames toward consistent naming, and the deliberate handing of element_polygon() and element_curve() upstream to ggplot2. The renaming is aggressive enough that each recent release soft-deprecates something.

◆ Prediction

With the internals on S7 and the Patch object exported, the next step is most likely stabilising those names rather than another refactor.

O
ordinalsimr
INFRA · APIS
0.0

A Shiny app for choosing the right ordinal test reached CRAN in a single 90-minute burst of tags.

◆ Current state

ordinalsimr compares ordinal endpoints by simulation — you specify probability distributions, sample sizes and iterations, and it runs the candidate statistical tests against them so you can see which behaves best. It is delivered as a Shiny application with a data-entry grid, and its entire release history spans six days in January 2025: three tags inside 90 minutes on the 20th, then a CRAN-compliance release on the 26th.

◆ Where it's heading

The release bodies are auto-generated pull-request lists covering the repository's whole history, so they read as a build log rather than a changelog: data entry UI, an rhandsontable statistics module, iteration and sample-size modules, binomial confidence intervals, plot tests, and a rename to the current package name late in development. What that log shows is a single-author project built to completion privately and then published all at once, with the public version history existing mainly to satisfy CRAN.

◆ Prediction

With the CRAN submission accepted and no post-release entries in the feed, the next move is most likely a maintenance release; the PR log gives no signal of planned work beyond the tests already implemented.

Alternatives to ggalign and ordinalsimr

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 ggalign or ordinalsimr.

See all ggalign alternatives → · See all ordinalsimr alternatives →

Recent activity from ggalign and ordinalsimr

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

  1. 10mo agoggalignalignpatch internals moved to S7; Patch object exported
  2. 11mo agoggalignInternals migrated to S7; ideogram, tags and image shapes
  3. 1y agoggalignz aesthetic scales and guide collection in borders
  4. 1y agoggalignchannelGrob() draws across facets; ggplot2 3.5.2 fix
  5. 1y agoggalignLayout system declared complete; polar facets and coord_circle()
  6. 1y agoggalignLayouts split into discrete and continuous; linking system added
  7. 1y agoordinalsimrv0.1.3 CRAN submission
  8. 1y agoordinalsimrOrdinal endpoint simulator submitted to CRAN
  9. 1y agoordinalsimrREADME refreshed and DOI added to the citation file
  10. 1y agoordinalsimrDevelopment tag ahead of the CRAN submission

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between ggalign and ordinalsimr?

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

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. ggalign and ordinalsimr 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 ggalign?

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

What are the best alternatives to ordinalsimr?

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