usmap
Ten years in, US mapping splits its data out and finally adds Puerto Rico.
Comparison · Infra & APIs
packageRank vs remap
A side-by-side editorial comparison of packageRank and remap — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
packageRank vs remap: at a glance
What is packageRank?
CRAN download analytics maintained one micro-change at a time, hundreds per year
packageRank computes download counts and percentile ranks from CRAN's logs, with a filtering layer that tries to separate real installs from mirrors, sequences and bots. The recent releases are dense lists of small changes — thirty or more per version — spread across plot arguments, filter behaviour, and the cranDistribution object that now absorbs what packageDistribution() used to do separately.
What is remap?
A regional-model smoother in long-term maintenance, four years past its last real feature.
remap fits separate models to geographic regions and blends their predictions into a continuous surface, using the min_n nearest observations so region boundaries do not show as discontinuities. The methodological work is finished — the last behavioural change landed in 2022, and everything since has been unit handling, compiler warnings, dependency compatibility and citation updates. The July release is one such patch.
packageRank vs remap: editorial side-by-side
packageRank
0.0INFRA · APIS
CRAN download analytics maintained one micro-change at a time, hundreds per year
◆ Current state
packageRank computes download counts and percentile ranks from CRAN's logs, with a filtering layer that tries to separate real installs from mirrors, sequences and bots. The recent releases are dense lists of small changes — thirty or more per version — spread across plot arguments, filter behaviour, and the cranDistribution object that now absorbs what packageDistribution() used to do separately.
◆ Where it's heading
There is no directional arc here; there is a maintainer keeping a measurement instrument calibrated against a data source that keeps moving. CRAN's logs went missing for a week in 2025 and the package now ships those dates as data and draws them as polygons on every plot. A chatgpt argument has been threaded through the plotting functions since 0.9.6. Function surface churns constantly — arguments renamed, plot helpers archived, others integrated.
◆ Prediction
Given the cadence, the next release will be another few dozen adjustments concentrated wherever CRAN's logs last surprised the maintainer. The consolidation of plotting arguments toward a single axis.package annotation looks unfinished.
remap
0.0INFRA · APIS
A regional-model smoother in long-term maintenance, four years past its last real feature.
◆ Current state
remap fits separate models to geographic regions and blends their predictions into a continuous surface, using the min_n nearest observations so region boundaries do not show as discontinuities. The methodological work is finished — the last behavioural change landed in 2022, and everything since has been unit handling, compiler warnings, dependency compatibility and citation updates. The July release is one such patch.
◆ Where it's heading
This is a stable academic package tracking its ecosystem rather than growing. The visible pattern is reactive maintenance: sf's 1.0.0 transition, ggplot2's size-to-linewidth rename, a gcc-UBSAN error on zero-point distance calculations, and now a check that distance matrices passed to remap() and predict() are converted to kilometres. Note that the feed's timestamps invert the version order — 0.3.1 is stamped seconds after 0.3.2 despite being the earlier release, so recency in this feed is not a reliable guide to sequence.
◆ Prediction
Nothing in these entries points to new capability. The realistic expectation is more of the same: a patch whenever sf, ggplot2 or a CRAN check surfaces an incompatibility, at roughly the observed cadence of one release every year or two.
Alternatives to packageRank and remap
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 packageRank or remap.
trackeR
Fitness-tracking analysis in slow maintenance, still absorbing upstream breakage.
states
State-panel tooling holding steady since its 2020 data and ergonomics release.
multimark
Five years of compiler and CRAN fixes on a capture-recapture package.
metagroup
A first release that turns meta-analytic heterogeneity into interpretable subgroups.
vcmeta
A meta-analysis toolkit still renaming its own API as it adds effect sizes.
See all packageRank alternatives → · See all remap alternatives →
Recent activity from packageRank and remap
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agoremapDistance matrices now converted to kilometres automatically
- 5mo agopackageRankPackage and version axis annotations across every plot
- 10mo agopackageRankMissing CRAN log dates shipped as data and drawn on plots
- 1y agopackageRankWeekend and version overlays for the base graphics path
- 1y agopackageRankPackage history prefers CRAN over the pkgsearch fallback
- 1y agoremapCitation updated to the R Journal article
- 1y agoremapUBSAN fix, parallel patch and sf search-path independence
- 1y agopackageRankDistribution summaries gain totals and a top-N default
- 1y agopackageRankcranDistribution() object and a direct query family
- 3y agoremappredict() can return an upper bound on combined standard errors
- 5y agoremapRegions without observations no longer break the prediction surface
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between packageRank and remap?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. packageRank and remap 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 packageRank better than remap?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. packageRank and remap 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 packageRank?
Top packageRank alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "packageRank alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/packagerank for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to remap?
Top remap alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "remap alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/remap for the full list with editorial commentary on each.