rnaturalearth
rnaturalearth finished its sp exit and is now optimising how the data actually arrives.
Comparison · Analytics
hardhat vs rgbif
A side-by-side editorial comparison of hardhat and rgbif — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
hardhat vs rgbif: at a glance
What is hardhat?
hardhat keeps adding the contracts tidymodels needs next
hardhat is the infrastructure layer under tidymodels, defining the preprocessing and extraction contracts other packages implement. Its releases read as a list of new generics and vector classes: extract_postprocessor(), extract_fit_time(), extract_tailor(), and a quantile_pred() class for quantile-regression output. The newest release is narrow warning and missing-value handling in mold().
What is rgbif?
rgbif is steadily pushing users off paged searching and onto real downloads.
rgbif ships several times a year and the recent releases cluster around downloads. 3.8.1 added `occ_download_sql()` for SQL-based occurrence downloads; 3.8.2 added DOI-to-download-key resolution and institutionKey downloads; 3.8.3 relayed GBIF's new throttling of bulk paging through `occ_search()` with a message pointing users at `occ_download()`; 3.8.5 added a family of `occ_download_stats_*()` functions plus multiple-taxonomy and verbatim-extension downloads. Alongside that, `name_backbone()` moved to GBIF API v2, and 3.8.0 soft-deprecated `occ_data()`.
hardhat vs rgbif: editorial side-by-side
hardhat
0.0ANALYTICS
hardhat keeps adding the contracts tidymodels needs next
◆ Current state
hardhat is the infrastructure layer under tidymodels, defining the preprocessing and extraction contracts other packages implement. Its releases read as a list of new generics and vector classes: extract_postprocessor(), extract_fit_time(), extract_tailor(), and a quantile_pred() class for quantile-regression output. The newest release is narrow warning and missing-value handling in mold().
◆ Where it's heading
Each addition here lands ahead of a user-facing feature elsewhere in tidymodels — the postprocessor and tailor generics precede the postprocessing workflow, quantile_pred() precedes quantile prediction in parsnip. The package's own surface stays deliberately small and its cadence follows what the rest of the stack is about to need.
◆ Prediction
Expect further extraction generics and prediction-type classes as tidymodels builds out postprocessing, with hardhat's own API remaining thin.
rgbif
0.0ANALYTICS
rgbif is steadily pushing users off paged searching and onto real downloads.
◆ Current state
rgbif ships several times a year and the recent releases cluster around downloads. 3.8.1 added `occ_download_sql()` for SQL-based occurrence downloads; 3.8.2 added DOI-to-download-key resolution and institutionKey downloads; 3.8.3 relayed GBIF's new throttling of bulk paging through `occ_search()` with a message pointing users at `occ_download()`; 3.8.5 added a family of `occ_download_stats_*()` functions plus multiple-taxonomy and verbatim-extension downloads. Alongside that, `name_backbone()` moved to GBIF API v2, and 3.8.0 soft-deprecated `occ_data()`.
◆ Where it's heading
Two things are happening at once. GBIF is discouraging bulk retrieval through the search API, and rgbif is building out the download path fast enough to absorb the traffic — SQL queries, DOI round-tripping, format description, and now statistics about the downloads themselves. Metadata coverage has expanded in parallel, with a dozen `dataset_*()` functions in 3.7.9 and GRSciColl institution search in 3.8.3. The deprecations are consistent: `occ_data()`, `occ_facet()`, `occ_count(type=)` all retired in favour of narrower replacements.
◆ Prediction
The download surface is where the next additions will land — likely more SQL-download tooling and further statistics endpoints, following 3.8.1 and 3.8.5.
Alternatives to hardhat and rgbif
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 hardhat or rgbif.
writexl
writexl spent nine years refusing to do formatting, then shipped all of it in 2.0.0.
rstanarm
rstanarm is community-maintained now, tracking Stan and lme4 rather than adding models.
taxa
taxa started a ground-up rewrite in 2021 and has published almost nothing since.
rotl
rotl's whole release history is keeping name matching honest against a moving taxonomy.
taxize
taxize spends its releases absorbing other people's API changes, one dead source at a time.
See all hardhat alternatives → · See all rgbif alternatives →
Recent activity from hardhat and rgbif
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 4mo agohardhatmold() warning and quantile missing-value fixes
- 4mo agorgbifrgbif 3.8.5 adds occurrence download statistics functions
- 8mo agorgbifrgbif 3.8.4 moves name matching to GBIF API v2
- 11mo agorgbifrgbif 3.8.3 adds GRSciColl search, relays GBIF paging throttle
- 11mo agohardhatextract_tailor() generic added
- 1y agorgbifrgbif 3.8.2 resolves download DOIs to keys
- 1y agohardhatquantile_pred() class for quantile regression output
- 1y agorgbifrgbif 3.8.1 adds SQL-based occurrence downloads ⚡
- 2y agohardhatextract_postprocessor() and extract_fit_time() generics
- 2y agorgbifrgbif 3.8.0 soft-deprecates occ_data(), adds download describe
- 2y agohardhatDocumentation topic renamed at CRAN's request
- 3y agohardhatMulti-outcome prediction helpers and one-hot factor encoding
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between hardhat and rgbif?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. hardhat and rgbif 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 hardhat better than rgbif?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. hardhat and rgbif 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 hardhat?
Top hardhat alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "hardhat alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/hardhat for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to rgbif?
Top rgbif alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "rgbif alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rgbif for the full list with editorial commentary on each.