tidytlg
A tables-listings-graphs package that reached CRAN and then went quiet.
Comparison · Analytics
gigs vs rstantools
A side-by-side editorial comparison of gigs and rstantools — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-package
gigs vs rstantools: at a glance
What is gigs?
gigs redesigned its whole conversion API for rOpenSci, then spent three releases getting the docs to build.
gigs implements international newborn and infant growth standards — INTERGROWTH-21st, WHO — converting anthropometric measurements to z-scores and centiles and classifying growth outcomes. The 0.5.0 release rewrote the public API around rOpenSci review feedback; the two releases after it change no code at all, existing purely to get the documentation site building.
What is rstantools?
The scaffolding layer for Stan-backed R packages, maintained rather than extended.
rstantools generates and maintains the build infrastructure that lets an R package ship Stan models — the inst/stan layout, the auto-generated C++, the Rcpp module loading, and the posterior_* generics downstream packages implement. Its releases are dominated by keeping that scaffolding compiling as Stan, StanHeaders, and rstan move underneath it. Version 2.7.0 continues that pattern, its one user-facing change being an allowance for deprecated syntax in specified versions of specified packages.
gigs vs rstantools: editorial side-by-side
gigs
0.0ANALYTICS
gigs redesigned its whole conversion API for rOpenSci, then spent three releases getting the docs to build.
◆ Current state
gigs implements international newborn and infant growth standards — INTERGROWTH-21st, WHO — converting anthropometric measurements to z-scores and centiles and classifying growth outcomes. The 0.5.0 release rewrote the public API around rOpenSci review feedback; the two releases after it change no code at all, existing purely to get the documentation site building.
◆ Where it's heading
The package has moved from vector-in, vector-out conversion helpers to a data.frame-oriented interface with a single classify_growth() entry point that computes whatever outcomes the supplied columns allow. That is a shift from library to tool — the user describes their data rather than picking the right function. The trailing releases suggest the code is settled and the remaining work is packaging and discoverability.
◆ Prediction
With the API rewrite absorbed and hosting moved to rOpenSci, the next substantive release should add growth standards or outcomes rather than reshape the interface again.
rstantools
2.5ANALYTICS
The scaffolding layer for Stan-backed R packages, maintained rather than extended.
◆ Current state
rstantools generates and maintains the build infrastructure that lets an R package ship Stan models — the inst/stan layout, the auto-generated C++, the Rcpp module loading, and the posterior_* generics downstream packages implement. Its releases are dominated by keeping that scaffolding compiling as Stan, StanHeaders, and rstan move underneath it. Version 2.7.0 continues that pattern, its one user-facing change being an allowance for deprecated syntax in specified versions of specified packages.
◆ Where it's heading
This is a stable dependency in maintenance mode, and the release history reads accordingly: compatibility shims for new rstan and Stan RNG versions, C++ standard bumps, and pkgdown housekeeping. The last substantive API growth was 2.5.0's loo_epred() generic and discrete-data loo_pit(). Contributor churn is visible in recent releases, with several first-time contributors handling infrastructure rather than statistics.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next releases to continue tracking Stan and rstan breakage as it arrives; nothing in the recent entries points to new generics or a change in the package-generation model.
Alternatives to gigs and rstantools
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 gigs or rstantools.
Tplyr
Tplyr made clinical summary tables explain where every number came from.
rlistings
Clinical listings that keep inheriting their hardest problem — pagination — from the layer below.
hoardr
A cache-directory helper that has shipped nothing but CRAN-triggered patches for seven years.
riem
A weather-data client that keeps rewriting its HTTP layer while slowly tightening its API.
datasetjson
datasetjson rebuilt its object model to track the CDISC Dataset-JSON 1.1 schema.
See all gigs alternatives → · See all rstantools alternatives →
Recent activity from gigs and rstantools
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 19d agorstantoolsDeprecated syntax allowed for pinned package versions
- 7mo agorstantoolspkgdown theme refresh, C++14 dropped from SystemRequirements
- 11mo agorstantoolsloo_epred() generic added, loo_pit() extended to discrete data
- 1y agogigsDocs and Zenodo archiving
- 1y agogigsDocs-only release; nothing changed internally
- 1y agogigsConversion API rewritten around data frames and classify_growth() ⚡
- 2y agogigsDocumentation fixes for autotest compliance
- 2y agogigsINTERGROWTH-21st fetal standards and input validation
- 2y agorstantoolsStandalone Stan functions fixed for rstan 2.33+
- 2y agogigsPatch release with documentation update
- 3y agorstantoolsinit_cpp deprecated, standalone-function bugfix under Stan 2.31
- 3y agorstantoolsC++17 standard adopted, standalone function export reworked
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between gigs and rstantools?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. rstantools is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 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 gigs better than rstantools?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. rstantools is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 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 gigs?
Top gigs alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "gigs alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/gigs for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to rstantools?
Top rstantools alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "rstantools alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rstantools for the full list with editorial commentary on each.