metatools
SDTM supplemental-qualifier merging got sturdier, then the package went quiet for two years.
Comparison · Analytics
lobstr vs teal.modules.hermes
A side-by-side editorial comparison of lobstr and teal.modules.hermes — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
lobstr vs teal.modules.hermes: at a glance
What is lobstr?
R's object inspector is losing its view of the internals as CRAN closes off the private C API.
lobstr exposes R's internal object representation — sizes, addresses, reference counts, abstract syntax trees. Its two most recent releases are both driven by R's move to a restricted public C API: 1.1.3 stopped reporting a vector's truelength and reworked the reference indicator into refs:n, and 1.2.0 changed what sxp(expand = "environment") shows in order to stay compliant. 1.2.0 also adds src() for exploring srcref objects.
What is teal.modules.hermes?
teal.modules.hermes stopped publishing release notes before it stopped releasing.
All three recent tags are automation output: a bump from 0.1.3.9017 to 0.1.4, a pre-release merge whose body is a list of file-path updates and co-author trailers, and an empty commit. The most recent is from October 2022.
lobstr vs teal.modules.hermes: editorial side-by-side
lobstr
0.0ANALYTICS
R's object inspector is losing its view of the internals as CRAN closes off the private C API.
◆ Current state
lobstr exposes R's internal object representation — sizes, addresses, reference counts, abstract syntax trees. Its two most recent releases are both driven by R's move to a restricted public C API: 1.1.3 stopped reporting a vector's truelength and reworked the reference indicator into refs:n, and 1.2.0 changed what sxp(expand = "environment") shows in order to stay compliant. 1.2.0 also adds src() for exploring srcref objects.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is being rebuilt inside a shrinking window of what R permits. Each release trades some introspection depth for API conformance while trying to keep the diagnostic value intact — showing promise expressions instead of internal frame structures, replacing named with a documented refs scale. Where the constraint does not bite, development continues normally: src() is genuinely new, and the environment-binding fixes remove long-standing errors on for-loop and immediate bindings.
◆ Prediction
Expect further conformance work, since the notes describe it as ongoing, with any remaining non-API-dependent readouts either reworked or dropped as R tightens further.
teal.modules.hermes
0.0ANALYTICS
teal.modules.hermes stopped publishing release notes before it stopped releasing.
◆ Current state
All three recent tags are automation output: a bump from 0.1.3.9017 to 0.1.4, a pre-release merge whose body is a list of file-path updates and co-author trailers, and an empty commit. The most recent is from October 2022.
◆ Where it's heading
The tags share the insightsengineering date-stamp and [skip vbump] convention, so the feed reports pipeline events rather than package changes — the one package-relevant line across all three is scda moving to Suggests. Nothing here indicates ongoing development.
◆ Prediction
There is nothing in these entries to project from; the package's actual state would have to be read from its NEWS file or commit history.
Alternatives to lobstr and teal.modules.hermes
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 lobstr or teal.modules.hermes.
marquee
marquee is filling in the typographic details — outlines, border types, real font metrics for underlines.
logrx
A clinical-script logger that stopped shipping after its 0.2 line, changelogs made of merged PRs.
GSODR
A weather-station data client that broke one return type to hand back distances instead of bare IDs.
giscoR
giscoR's 1.0 moved its dataset index into the cache, so new Eurostat releases arrive without a package update.
FedData
FedData has spent two major versions migrating US federal geodata off R's retiring spatial stack.
See all lobstr alternatives → · See all teal.modules.hermes alternatives →
Recent activity from lobstr and teal.modules.hermes
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 5mo agolobstrNew src() for srcrefs; environment bindings stop erroring
- 9mo agolobstrtruelength reporting dropped for public C API compliance ⚡
- 3y agoteal.modules.hermes2022_10_13
- 3y agoteal.modules.hermes2022_08_16: [skip vbump] Merge pre-release to main (#276)
- 4y agolobstrMoves to cpp11, relicensed MIT, adds experimental tree()
- 4y agoteal.modules.hermes2022_06_09: [skip vbump] (#256)
- 7y agolobstrPROTECT error fixed
- 7y agolobstrALTREP sizes computed correctly; obj_addr() stops side-effecting
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between lobstr and teal.modules.hermes?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. lobstr and teal.modules.hermes 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 lobstr better than teal.modules.hermes?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. lobstr and teal.modules.hermes 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 lobstr?
Top lobstr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "lobstr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/lobstr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to teal.modules.hermes?
Top teal.modules.hermes alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "teal.modules.hermes alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/teal-modules-hermes for the full list with editorial commentary on each.