paleobuddy
paleobuddy can now simulate trait-dependent diversification, not just birth-death.
Comparison · Analytics
paletteer vs SimInf
A side-by-side editorial comparison of paletteer and SimInf — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-package
paletteer vs SimInf: at a glance
What is paletteer?
A palette aggregator that grows by absorbing other packages, not by changing shape
paletteer collects colour palettes from across the R ecosystem behind one consistent interface, so users can reference any of them by a single name rather than installing each source package. Its function surface has been essentially fixed for years; what changes each release is the catalogue. Version 1.7.0 pulls in palettes from ButterflyColors, feathers, ggsci, khroma, PrettyCols, tayloRswift, blueycolors, amerika, Rdune and poisonfrogs, and tightens argument checking.
What is SimInf?
SimInf 10.0 turns an epidemic simulator into a tool that fits models to real time series
SimInf simulates stochastic disease spread over networks of nodes, with a model parser that compiles user-specified transitions to C. Version 10.0.0 was a deliberate major break: the SimInf_pfilter S4 class and the bootstrap filtering interface were redesigned, a replicates slot was added to SimInf_model, a multi-particle variant of the split-step solver arrived, and the package gained Particle Markov Chain Monte Carlo fitting against observed time series. The follow-up 10.1.0 is a single zero-length memcpy fix found by CRAN's M1 checks.
paletteer vs SimInf: editorial side-by-side
paletteer
0.0ANALYTICS
A palette aggregator that grows by absorbing other packages, not by changing shape
◆ Current state
paletteer collects colour palettes from across the R ecosystem behind one consistent interface, so users can reference any of them by a single name rather than installing each source package. Its function surface has been essentially fixed for years; what changes each release is the catalogue. Version 1.7.0 pulls in palettes from ButterflyColors, feathers, ggsci, khroma, PrettyCols, tayloRswift, blueycolors, amerika, Rdune and poisonfrogs, and tightens argument checking.
◆ Where it's heading
This is a catalogue, and catalogues grow by ingestion. Every substantive release since 1.3.0 is a list of source packages absorbed, in batches of tens to low hundreds of palettes, with occasional maintenance on the metadata tables that describe them. Release cadence follows contributor pull requests rather than any internal roadmap — roughly one release every one to two years, each bundling whatever accumulated.
◆ Prediction
Expect the same: another release when enough new source packages have been proposed, likely paired with further work on palettes_c_names and palettes_d_names, the only part of the package that has been iterated on for its own sake.
SimInf
0.0ANALYTICS
SimInf 10.0 turns an epidemic simulator into a tool that fits models to real time series
◆ Current state
SimInf simulates stochastic disease spread over networks of nodes, with a model parser that compiles user-specified transitions to C. Version 10.0.0 was a deliberate major break: the SimInf_pfilter S4 class and the bootstrap filtering interface were redesigned, a replicates slot was added to SimInf_model, a multi-particle variant of the split-step solver arrived, and the package gained Particle Markov Chain Monte Carlo fitting against observed time series. The follow-up 10.1.0 is a single zero-length memcpy fix found by CRAN's M1 checks.
◆ Where it's heading
The package has been moving from simulation toward inference for several releases. The 9.x line built the input side — utilities for cleaning raw individual event data, variables and enumeration constants in the model parser — and 10.0.0 closed the loop by making the simulator fittable to data through PMCMC. The version number was incremented precisely because that required breaking the particle filter interface.
◆ Prediction
Fitting machinery this new usually needs a second pass on usability, so the next releases most likely focus on diagnostics and documentation around PMCMC rather than on the simulation core, which has been stable across the whole 9.x and 10.x history.
Alternatives to paletteer and SimInf
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 paletteer or SimInf.
geodist
geodist stays dependency-free and fast, and warns you when 'cheap' distances stop being honest.
errors
errors keeps making uncertainty print the way each scientific field expects.
CMAQ
CMAQ went global in v5.5, and has been patching that surface ever since.
enpls
enpls has not changed its statistics since 2016 — only its website, twice.
grex
grex is a lookup table with a version number — it ships when the annotation moves.
See all paletteer alternatives → · See all SimInf alternatives →
Recent activity from paletteer and SimInf
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 7mo agopaletteerTen more source packages absorbed; argument checking tightened
- 9mo agoSimInfAvoid memcpy on zero-length continuous state vector
- 9mo agoSimInfPMCMC fitting arrives; particle filter interface redesigned ⚡
- 2y agoSimInfDocumentation link anchors; parser dependency fix
- 2y agoSimInfModel parser gains variables and enumeration constants
- 2y agoSimInfindividual_events() added for raw event data cleaning
- 2y agopaletteerRoughly 170 palettes added from seven art and design packages
- 3y agoSimInfConfigure script uses R to locate the compiler
- 3y agopaletteerMetBrewer, NatParksPalettes and six more sources added
- 4y agopaletteerHTML5-friendly documentation fix
- 5y agopaletteerggprism and nbapalettes added; palette metadata enriched
- 5y agopaletteersoilpalettes, rockthemes and Manu palettes added
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between paletteer and SimInf?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. paletteer and SimInf 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 paletteer better than SimInf?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. paletteer and SimInf 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 paletteer?
Top paletteer alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "paletteer alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/paletteer-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to SimInf?
Top SimInf alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "SimInf alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/siminf-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.