ibis.iSDM
A raster-to-terra migration is the only readable change in a feed of merge notes.
Comparison · Analytics
lavaanExtra vs simlandr
A side-by-side editorial comparison of lavaanExtra and simlandr — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-package
lavaanExtra vs simlandr: 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 simlandr?
Potential landscape tooling settling onto standard R generics after two rounds of renaming.
simlandr builds potential landscape plots from simulations of dynamic systems, with barrier-height calculations and batch simulation grids. Its three substantive releases are all consolidation: parameters renamed, functions renamed, defaults removed. By 0.3.0 the bespoke accessors had been replaced by ggplot2's autolayer() and base summary(), and the package carried print, summary, and plot methods for its own classes.
lavaanExtra vs simlandr: 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.
simlandr
0.0ANALYTICS
Potential landscape tooling settling onto standard R generics after two rounds of renaming.
◆ Current state
simlandr builds potential landscape plots from simulations of dynamic systems, with barrier-height calculations and batch simulation grids. Its three substantive releases are all consolidation: parameters renamed, functions renamed, defaults removed. By 0.3.0 the bespoke accessors had been replaced by ggplot2's autolayer() and base summary(), and the package carried print, summary, and plot methods for its own classes.
◆ Where it's heading
Every release trades a package-specific name for a conventional one - var and par became arg and ele, get_geom() became an autolayer() method, get_barrier_height() became a summary() method, hash_big.matrix became hash_big_matrix. The one methodological change, an adjusted minimal energy path algorithm, arrived inside a release otherwise full of renames. Removing default values for barrier calculation because they were often unsuitable reads as the maintainer deciding the defaults were doing harm.
◆ Prediction
The feed stops at 0.3.0 in late 2022, mid-consolidation; these entries give no indication of what followed, if anything did.
Alternatives to lavaanExtra and simlandr
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 simlandr.
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.
quanteda.textmodels
Split out of quanteda, then quiet - one new classifier since 2020.
See all lavaanExtra alternatives → · See all simlandr alternatives →
Recent activity from lavaanExtra and simlandr
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 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
- 3y agosimlandrAccessors replaced by autolayer and summary methods
- 3y agosimlandrroxygen2 updated for HTML5 compatibility
- 4y agosimlandrBatch simulation arguments renamed; energy path algorithm adjusted
- 4y agosimlandrManual improved and a test function added
- 5y agosimlandrPackage cleaned for CRAN compatibility
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between lavaanExtra and simlandr?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. lavaanExtra and simlandr 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 simlandr?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. lavaanExtra and simlandr 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 simlandr?
Top simlandr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "simlandr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/simlandr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.