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Comparison · Analytics

ggmagnify vs treespace

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

ggmagnify vs treespace: at a glance

Featureggmagnifytreespace
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesggplot2, data-visualization, inset-plots, r-packagephylogenetics, transmission-trees, cran-compliance, maintenance-mode
Last editorial update1h ago2h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is ggmagnify?

A single-purpose ggplot2 inset tool, refining the same three arguments.

ggmagnify draws magnified insets of a region of a ggplot, with projection lines connecting the inset to its source area. The visible releases are all small refinements to how that inset looks — corner radius, fill between projection lines — plus one fix for inset themes being overridden. There are only three entries, so the picture is necessarily partial.

Read the full ggmagnify trajectory →

What is treespace?

treespace ships once every year or two, and only when CRAN or a user forces it.

treespace explores and compares sets of phylogenetic and transmission trees, including the tree-distance measures used in outbreak reconstruction. Its release history is entirely reactive: five updates across five years, each triggered by a CRAN policy change, an upstream package removal, or a bug someone reported. The most recent is an Rd cross-reference format patch plus a maintainer email change.

Read the full treespace trajectory →

ggmagnify vs treespace: editorial side-by-side

G
ggmagnify
ANALYTICS
0.0

A single-purpose ggplot2 inset tool, refining the same three arguments.

◆ Current state

ggmagnify draws magnified insets of a region of a ggplot, with projection lines connecting the inset to its source area. The visible releases are all small refinements to how that inset looks — corner radius, fill between projection lines — plus one fix for inset themes being overridden. There are only three entries, so the picture is necessarily partial.

◆ Where it's heading

Work concentrates on the visual finish of the inset rather than on new capability, which is what a package with one job should look like. Two feature releases a week apart in early 2024 suggest a short burst of attention rather than sustained development, and the feed goes quiet after mid-2024.

◆ Prediction

Too few entries to call a direction with confidence; continued small styling arguments would be consistent with what is visible.

T
treespace
ANALYTICS
0.0

treespace ships once every year or two, and only when CRAN or a user forces it.

◆ Current state

treespace explores and compares sets of phylogenetic and transmission trees, including the tree-distance measures used in outbreak reconstruction. Its release history is entirely reactive: five updates across five years, each triggered by a CRAN policy change, an upstream package removal, or a bug someone reported. The most recent is an Rd cross-reference format patch plus a maintainer email change.

◆ Where it's heading

The package is stable and lightly staffed rather than abandoned — bugs that affect correctness do get fixed, and CRAN deadlines are met. But the 2023 update is the telling one: rather than vendor or replace adephylo when it faced removal, the maintainers disabled two tree-vector methods and marked the loss as hopefully temporary. Two years on, nothing in the feed indicates they came back.

◆ Prediction

The next entry will most likely be another CRAN-compliance patch, on the pattern of four of the last five releases. Whether the Abouheif and sumDD methods ever return is not something these entries give any signal on.

Alternatives to ggmagnify and treespace

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 ggmagnify or treespace.

See all ggmagnify alternatives → · See all treespace alternatives →

Recent activity from ggmagnify and treespace

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

  1. 11mo agotreespacetreespace patches Rd cross-references for CRAN
  2. 2y agoggmagnifyFixes inset theme override on supplied plots
  3. 2y agoggmagnifyAdds fill between projection lines
  4. 2y agoggmagnifyAdds corner radius for target and inset
  5. 2y agotreespacetreespace disables Abouheif and sumDD as adephylo exits CRAN
  6. 3y agotreespacetreespace fixes vignette build on NA tree names
  7. 5y agotreespacetreespace fixes dist indexing that broke its tests
  8. 5y agotreespacetreespace corrects tip label handling in transmission distances

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between ggmagnify and treespace?

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

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

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

What are the best alternatives to treespace?

Top treespace alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "treespace alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/treespace-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.