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Comparison · Analytics
Holistics vs soilDBdata
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Holistics and soilDBdata — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Holistics vs soilDBdata: at a glance
What is Holistics?
Holistics keeps fencing in the AI layer it spent the summer building.
Holistics ships small, frequent notes - often one or two sentences - across three strands: AI features in Explore and Chat, as-code control of presentation through AML, and workspace hygiene like file history and dark mode. The August entries are entirely about the AI layer's edges rather than its capabilities: an AI user attribute for restricting what the assistant can reach, and now redaction of the data it is allowed to see. Bodies are frequently a single line, so scope has to be read from the headline and the release-note URL.
What is soilDBdata?
soilDBdata exists so soilDB's tests can run without a NASIS connection.
soilDBdata is a data-only package supplying NASIS and gSSURGO sample datasets as .sqlite assets, installed separately by soilDB's GitHub Actions so unit tests that would otherwise need database access can run. It began as a proof of concept carrying MT663 pedon and component tables used in soil survey coursework, and its most recent release adds a Marshall Islands FY26 gSSURGO dataset. Releases are infrequent and driven by what the parent package needs to test.
Holistics vs soilDBdata: editorial side-by-side
Holistics
5.0ANALYTICS
Holistics keeps fencing in the AI layer it spent the summer building.
◆ Current state
Holistics ships small, frequent notes - often one or two sentences - across three strands: AI features in Explore and Chat, as-code control of presentation through AML, and workspace hygiene like file history and dark mode. The August entries are entirely about the AI layer's edges rather than its capabilities: an AI user attribute for restricting what the assistant can reach, and now redaction of the data it is allowed to see. Bodies are frequently a single line, so scope has to be read from the headline and the release-note URL.
◆ Where it's heading
The AI work has moved through a recognizable sequence: capability first with chart suggestions, then observability with AI Chat Insights for admins, then access control with an AI-specific user attribute, and now field-level redaction. Access control decides which rows the assistant can reach; redaction decides what it may see inside them - the same governance thread at finer grain. Alongside it, Holistics keeps pulling presentation into AML - custom charts, theme palettes, currency formats - so what analysts used to click is versioned as code.
◆ Prediction
With reach and visibility both now constrained, the remaining gap is accountability - logging what the assistant answered against which data - though the one-line release notes rarely signal scope far enough ahead to read the next step confidently.
soilDBdata
0.0ANALYTICS
soilDBdata exists so soilDB's tests can run without a NASIS connection.
◆ Current state
soilDBdata is a data-only package supplying NASIS and gSSURGO sample datasets as .sqlite assets, installed separately by soilDB's GitHub Actions so unit tests that would otherwise need database access can run. It began as a proof of concept carrying MT663 pedon and component tables used in soil survey coursework, and its most recent release adds a Marshall Islands FY26 gSSURGO dataset. Releases are infrequent and driven by what the parent package needs to test.
◆ Where it's heading
Development follows soilDB rather than leading it: assets get bumped when a soilDB version changes, and purpose lists are updated when soilDB adds a table. The one release that changed what testing is possible was v0.1.1, which added selected-set _View_1 tables alongside whole tables so both SS=TRUE and SS=FALSE code paths could be exercised. Four-year gaps between releases are normal here and do not indicate abandonment — a fixture package only needs to move when the fixtures go stale.
◆ Prediction
The recent addition is a new geography rather than a new table structure, so further releases most likely continue broadening dataset coverage as soilDB gains regions to test against.
Alternatives to Holistics and soilDBdata
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 Holistics or soilDBdata.
distributions3
distributions3 0.3.0 adds sample-based distributions and likelihood derivatives
Basedash
Basedash keeps pushing its data out of the workspace — now to people without accounts
RStudio
RStudio ships through release branches, and the notes are commit messages
dbt Core
dbt Fusion's second beta is adapter work: ClickHouse gets materializations, indexes, and catalogs
Fulcrum
Fulcrum is betting its whole map stack on Esri, with a hard Google Maps cutoff on September 1.
See all Holistics alternatives → · See all soilDBdata alternatives →
Recent activity from Holistics and soilDBdata
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 3d agoHolisticsAI user attribute restricts AI access to sensitive data
- 3d agoHolisticsRedact data exposed to the AI assistant
- 17d agoHolisticsCustom currency and unit formats, per field
- 20d agoHolisticsFile history: per-file version timeline and restore
- 23d agoHolisticsCustom charts become AML code with GUI authoring
- 24d agoHolisticsColor palettes can be assigned at the theme level
- 3mo agosoilDBdataMarshall Islands FY26 gSSURGO dataset added
- 1y agosoilDBdataMT663 fixtures refreshed for soilDB 2.8.3
- 1y agosoilDBdataNASIS purpose lists updated for siteothvegclass
- 4y agosoilDBdataSelected-set _View_1 tables enable SS=TRUE/FALSE testing
- 4y agosoilDBdataProof of concept: MT663 pedon and component .sqlite fixtures
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Holistics and soilDBdata?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Holistics is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 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 Holistics better than soilDBdata?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Holistics is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 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 Holistics?
Top Holistics alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Holistics alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/holistics for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to soilDBdata?
Top soilDBdata alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "soilDBdata alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/soildbdata for the full list with editorial commentary on each.