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Potential landscape tooling settling onto standard R generics after two rounds of renaming.
Comparison · Analytics
lavaanExtra vs qtl2fst
A side-by-side editorial comparison of lavaanExtra and qtl2fst — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-package
lavaanExtra vs qtl2fst: at a glance
What is lavaanExtra?
SEM reporting helpers converging on APA output, one CRAN resubmission at a time.
lavaanExtra provides shorthand syntax and formatted output around lavaan structural equation models - write_lavaan() to build model strings, and nice_* functions for fit tables, plots, and modification indices. Three of the six visible releases exist only to satisfy CRAN resubmission: a unicode problem, a dependency version check, tests running without suggested packages. The substance sits in 0.1.5, 0.1.8, and 0.1.9.
What is qtl2fst?
The out-of-memory backend for R/qtl2, feature-complete since 2020 and now purely on upkeep
qtl2fst backs R/qtl2 genotype probabilities with on-disk fst files so large crosses don't have to fit in RAM. Its defining release was 0.22 in 2020, which added calc_genoprob_fst() and genoprob_to_alleleprob_fst() to fuse calculation and storage in one step. The five releases since are documentation links, directory-creation robustness, a Windows example fix, and — in 0.32 — a change to how cores=0 is interpreted.
lavaanExtra vs qtl2fst: editorial side-by-side
lavaanExtra
0.0ANALYTICS
SEM reporting helpers converging on APA output, one CRAN resubmission at a time.
◆ Current state
lavaanExtra provides shorthand syntax and formatted output around lavaan structural equation models - write_lavaan() to build model strings, and nice_* functions for fit tables, plots, and modification indices. Three of the six visible releases exist only to satisfy CRAN resubmission: a unicode problem, a dependency version check, tests running without suggested packages. The substance sits in 0.1.5, 0.1.8, and 0.1.9.
◆ Where it's heading
The package generalises its own vocabulary as it goes: lavaan_ind() became lavaan_defined() once it turned out to extract any user-defined parameter, and lavaan_cov() was split so lavaan_cor() covers actual correlations. Methodological positions are taken alongside the API - dropping the estimate argument from lavaan_reg() to force reporting both standardized and unstandardized values, and updating the RMSEA benchmark to Schreiber (2017). Rémi Thériault maintains it next to rempsyc, which formats output to match. Note that 0.1.5 restates the whole 0.1.4.x development series in one body.
◆ Prediction
The pattern points to another nice_* helper aimed at a reporting step that currently needs hand formatting, arriving with the usual CRAN resubmission behind it.
qtl2fst
0.0ANALYTICS
The out-of-memory backend for R/qtl2, feature-complete since 2020 and now purely on upkeep
◆ Current state
qtl2fst backs R/qtl2 genotype probabilities with on-disk fst files so large crosses don't have to fit in RAM. Its defining release was 0.22 in 2020, which added calc_genoprob_fst() and genoprob_to_alleleprob_fst() to fuse calculation and storage in one step. The five releases since are documentation links, directory-creation robustness, a Windows example fix, and — in 0.32 — a change to how cores=0 is interpreted.
◆ Where it's heading
The package has settled into the role of a stable satellite of R/qtl2: it tracks the parent package's conventions rather than setting its own. The cores=0 change in 0.32 arrived alongside the identical change in qtl2convert, so the parallel-computing default is being standardized across the maintainer's packages at once. Release intervals have stretched from months to years.
◆ Prediction
Further releases will most likely mirror changes originating in R/qtl2 or CRAN checks, in the same follow-the-parent pattern as 0.24 and 0.32.
Alternatives to lavaanExtra and qtl2fst
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 lavaanExtra or qtl2fst.
ibis.iSDM
A raster-to-terra migration is the only readable change in a feed of merge notes.
anyflights
A nycflights13 generator whose recent work is all about the data being right.
vinereg
Conditional density and log-likelihood fill out a vine copula regression package.
stringx
A drop-in string API for base R, kept alive by upstream check failures.
healthyR.data
From a bundled hospital dataset to a live CMS API client.
See all lavaanExtra alternatives → · See all qtl2fst alternatives →
Recent activity from lavaanExtra and qtl2fst
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agoqtl2fstcores=0 now leaves one core free instead of taking all
- 1y agoqtl2fstWindows fix for the replace_path() example
- 2y agoqtl2fstDocumentation link fix
- 2y agolavaanExtraCRAN resubmission for a unicode problem
- 2y agolavaanExtralavaan_ind renamed to lavaan_defined; thresholds supported
- 2y agolavaanExtranice_modindices flags redundant items
- 3y agolavaanExtraSuggested dependency versions checked correctly
- 3y agolavaanExtraTests run without suggested dependencies
- 3y agolavaanExtraFit benchmarks updated and correlations split from covariances
- 4y agoqtl2fstCreates missing directories instead of erroring out
- 5y agoqtl2fstTest coverage for qtl2 functions against fst-backed probabilities
- 6y agoqtl2fstDocumentation and metadata cleanup for CRAN
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between lavaanExtra and qtl2fst?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. lavaanExtra and qtl2fst 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 lavaanExtra better than qtl2fst?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. lavaanExtra and qtl2fst 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 lavaanExtra?
Top lavaanExtra alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "lavaanExtra alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/lavaanextra for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to qtl2fst?
Top qtl2fst alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "qtl2fst alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/qtl2fst for the full list with editorial commentary on each.