DNSControl
DNSControl v5 is feature complete and counting down to an August ship date
Comparison · Infra & APIs
highr vs waldo
A side-by-side editorial comparison of highr and waldo — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:maintenance
highr vs waldo: at a glance
What is highr?
highr is finished software: one-line releases every year or two
highr does syntax highlighting for knitr output, and every release in this window is a single line of change. The most recent wraps hilight() output in xfun::raw_string() for nicer printing; before that, a rename of two LaTeX command macros and two bumps to the minimum R version. There is no feature work here at all.
What is waldo?
waldo keeps shedding dependencies while teaching its diff engine new object systems
waldo produces the object comparisons that testthat failure messages are built from. The recent releases do two things: drop dependencies - tibble, rematch2 and fansi have all gone - and extend comparison to object systems that did not exist when it was written, notably S7. Correctness of missing-value and tolerance semantics accounts for most of the rest.
highr vs waldo: editorial side-by-side
highr
0.0INFRA · APIS
highr is finished software: one-line releases every year or two
◆ Current state
highr does syntax highlighting for knitr output, and every release in this window is a single line of change. The most recent wraps hilight() output in xfun::raw_string() for nicer printing; before that, a rename of two LaTeX command macros and two bumps to the minimum R version. There is no feature work here at all.
◆ Where it's heading
This is a completed micro-package in the knitr ecosystem, maintained only to stay installable and consistent with its parent packages. Changes are triggered by knitr's needs or CRAN's requirements rather than by any plan of its own, and the gaps between releases run to years.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next release whenever knitr or CRAN requires one, with a similarly single-line changelog.
waldo
0.0INFRA · APIS
waldo keeps shedding dependencies while teaching its diff engine new object systems
◆ Current state
waldo produces the object comparisons that testthat failure messages are built from. The recent releases do two things: drop dependencies - tibble, rematch2 and fansi have all gone - and extend comparison to object systems that did not exist when it was written, notably S7. Correctness of missing-value and tolerance semantics accounts for most of the rest.
◆ Where it's heading
This is a package deliberately shrinking its footprint while widening what it understands. Since it is imported by testthat, every dependency it drops is one fewer package in the check environment of most of CRAN, which is clearly the motivation. The comparison logic itself changes only when R gains a new way to represent objects.
◆ Prediction
Expect S7 support to deepen from basic to complete as S7 adoption grows, and further dependency removals; the diff algorithm itself looks settled.
Alternatives to highr and waldo
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 highr or waldo.
git2r
git2r stopped vendoring libgit2 and now expects it on the system
Casdoor
casdoor ships several times a day, mostly tightening organization boundaries.
downlit
downlit's HTML contract was set in 0.4.0; every release since tracks R itself.
dittodb
dittodb has spent four years on CRAN link fixes and one DBI bump.
connectapi
connectapi is becoming the scripted administration surface for Posit Connect.
Recent activity from highr and waldo
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 5mo agohighrhilight() output wrapped in raw_string()
- 1y agowaldoCompares weakrefs, ignores read-only S7 properties
- 1y agowaldoOnly uses bit64 comparison when bit64 is installed
- 1y agowaldoDrops tibble and rematch2; adds basic S7 support
- 1y agowaldoDrops the fansi dependency
- 2y agohighrLaTeX macros renamed to \hlsng and \hldef
- 2y agowaldoFixes for upcoming R-devel changes
- 3y agowaldoTolerance now governs both display and NaN equality
- 3y agohighrMinimum R version raised to 3.3.0
- 5y agohighrmarkdown added to Suggests for knitr
- 5y agohighrMinimum R version raised to 3.2.3
- 8y agohighrInternal pandoc LaTeX command table added
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between highr and waldo?
Both compete on the same themes — maintenance — within Infra & APIs. highr and waldo 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 highr better than waldo?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. highr and waldo 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 highr?
Top highr alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "highr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/highr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to waldo?
Top waldo alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "waldo alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/waldo for the full list with editorial commentary on each.