STACAS
Single-cell batch correction that learned to use cell labels, then spent three releases chasing Seurat.
Comparison · Analytics
ggtrace vs washdata
A side-by-side editorial comparison of ggtrace and washdata — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
ggtrace vs washdata: at a glance
What is ggtrace?
A debugger for ggplot2's internals, hardening its grip as the internals it traces keep moving.
ggtrace lets users step inside ggplot2's rendering pipeline — tracing ggproto methods, dumping intermediate state, and snapshotting layer data at each stage via layer_before_stat(), layer_after_stat(), layer_before_geom() and layer_after_scale(). The workflow functions gained short aliases at 0.7.1, and recent releases have gone into making method resolution work on ggproto definitions written in forms the tracer did not originally expect.
What is washdata?
washdata is a fixed survey dataset; eight years of releases have changed only its packaging.
A data package distributing the Urban Water and Sanitation Survey, on CRAN since January 2018. No release has altered the data. The 2018 pair added survey country, year and aim to DESCRIPTION and fixed a README link; everything since — 2020, 2024 and the January 2026 release — is documentation, formatting, badges, repository refreshes and updates for a new rhub version.
ggtrace vs washdata: editorial side-by-side
ggtrace
0.0ANALYTICS
A debugger for ggplot2's internals, hardening its grip as the internals it traces keep moving.
◆ Current state
ggtrace lets users step inside ggplot2's rendering pipeline — tracing ggproto methods, dumping intermediate state, and snapshotting layer data at each stage via layer_before_stat(), layer_after_stat(), layer_before_geom() and layer_after_scale(). The workflow functions gained short aliases at 0.7.1, and recent releases have gone into making method resolution work on ggproto definitions written in forms the tracer did not originally expect.
◆ Where it's heading
The package matured from raw tracing primitives into named workflows: 0.6.0 added the sublayer snapshot functions and error-context helpers, 0.7.x has been sanding down how reliably those workflows find and evaluate a method. Three consecutive releases in May 2025, two of them minutes apart, all address the same class of failure — one-liner ggproto methods without braces, and inheritance resolution on instances rather than subclasses. That pattern says the remaining bugs are in method introspection, not in the tracing machinery itself.
◆ Prediction
Expect continued fixes to method resolution as ggplot2's ggproto definitions vary, and realignment work when ggplot2 4.x changes internals this package deliberately reaches into. The entries do not signal new workflow functions.
washdata
0.0ANALYTICS
washdata is a fixed survey dataset; eight years of releases have changed only its packaging.
◆ Current state
A data package distributing the Urban Water and Sanitation Survey, on CRAN since January 2018. No release has altered the data. The 2018 pair added survey country, year and aim to DESCRIPTION and fixed a README link; everything since — 2020, 2024 and the January 2026 release — is documentation, formatting, badges, repository refreshes and updates for a new rhub version.
◆ Where it's heading
Nothing is heading anywhere, and for a dataset package that is the point: the value is a citable, unchanging artifact, and the release history exists to keep it installable as R's toolchain moves. The maintenance cadence matches the maintainer's other nutrition packages, which received the same repository-refresh treatment in the same period. Note also that the tags are backfilled out of order — v0.1.0 carries a later stamp than v0.1.2.
◆ Prediction
Expect further releases only when CRAN checks or infrastructure require them; there is no indication the survey data itself will be extended.
Alternatives to ggtrace and washdata
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 ggtrace or washdata.
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.
gghighlight
A single-purpose ggplot2 extension that has spent six years tracking ggplot2 instead of growing.
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 ggtrace alternatives → · See all washdata alternatives →
Recent activity from ggtrace and washdata
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 6mo agowashdataRepository and toolchain maintenance
- 1y agoggtraceBrace-less one-liner methods traced gracefully
- 1y agoggtraceget_method_inheritance() fixed for class instances
- 1y agoggtraceWorkflow functions recognise one-liner ggproto methods
- 1y agoggtraceEager layer_is(), clearer method-mismatch errors, consistent tracedump names
- 1y agoggtracetrace_steps = "all" added; double-evaluation side effects fixed
- 1y agoggtracelayer_is() targets by_layer() downstream directly
- 2y agowashdataDocumentation and formatting updates
- 5y agowashdataSecond release: documentation and formatting
- 8y agowashdataPre-release of the survey dataset
- 8y agowashdataFirst CRAN release of the Urban Water and Sanitation Survey
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between ggtrace and washdata?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. ggtrace and washdata 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 ggtrace better than washdata?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. ggtrace and washdata 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 ggtrace?
Top ggtrace alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "ggtrace alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/ggtrace for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to washdata?
Top washdata alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "washdata alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/washdata for the full list with editorial commentary on each.