tern.rbmi
Reference-based multiple imputation tables, shipping only what CRAN checks demand.
Comparison · Analytics
parallelDist vs protr
A side-by-side editorial comparison of parallelDist and protr — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:maintenance-mode
parallelDist vs protr: at a glance
What is parallelDist?
parallelDist is in pure preservation mode — one build fix every few years.
parallelDist computes distance matrices across threads in C++ via RcppParallel and Armadillo. The feature set has been settled since 0.2.3 in 2018, which added hamming distance and cosine similarity; everything after that is compatibility work. The most recent release, 0.2.7, exists only to drop a C++11 pin that newer Armadillo versions no longer tolerate.
What is protr?
protr's feature set is finished; the work now is surviving Bioconductor's churn.
protr generates numerical descriptors from protein sequences for machine learning, plus alignment-based similarity between sequences. The descriptor functions have been stable for years. Recent releases divide cleanly into two kinds: extending the similarity computations to work under memory constraints, and absorbing the Bioconductor split that moved pairwise alignment out of Biostrings into pwalign.
parallelDist vs protr: editorial side-by-side
parallelDist
0.0ANALYTICS
parallelDist is in pure preservation mode — one build fix every few years.
◆ Current state
parallelDist computes distance matrices across threads in C++ via RcppParallel and Armadillo. The feature set has been settled since 0.2.3 in 2018, which added hamming distance and cosine similarity; everything after that is compatibility work. The most recent release, 0.2.7, exists only to drop a C++11 pin that newer Armadillo versions no longer tolerate.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is being kept installable, not developed. The three most recent releases are a toolchain pin removal, a DESCRIPTION field removal, and a coercion change inherited from proxy — none originate from user-facing intent. Gaps of three to four years between releases are the norm now, and each one is triggered by something upstream breaking rather than by a roadmap.
◆ Prediction
The next release will almost certainly be another compatibility fix timed to whatever Armadillo, Rcpp or CRAN check policy changes next. Nothing in the entries points to new distance measures or API work.
protr
0.0ANALYTICS
protr's feature set is finished; the work now is surviving Bioconductor's churn.
◆ Current state
protr generates numerical descriptors from protein sequences for machine learning, plus alignment-based similarity between sequences. The descriptor functions have been stable for years. Recent releases divide cleanly into two kinds: extending the similarity computations to work under memory constraints, and absorbing the Bioconductor split that moved pairwise alignment out of Biostrings into pwalign.
◆ Where it's heading
The similarity side is where the remaining engineering goes, and it follows a consistent pattern — whatever parSeqSim() gained, crossSetSim() eventually gets. Batching, verbose progress and a disk-backed variant all arrived for the single-set case first and were mirrored for the cross-set case in 1.7-1. That is a maintainer closing feature-parity gaps rather than opening new directions, and the two most recent releases contain no user-facing change at all.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next release to react to another Bioconductor or R CMD check change, which accounts for three of the last four. The similarity functions now have parity, so there is no obvious internal backlog left.
Alternatives to parallelDist and protr
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 parallelDist or protr.
tern.mmrm
An MMRM tabulation package that has published nothing since its 2024 CRAN releases.
ggmagnify
A single-purpose ggplot2 inset tool, refining the same three arguments.
symengine
An R symbolic-maths binding whose changelog is really the C++ core's release notes.
gtfstools
gtfstools stopped guarding its own object model and started accepting everyone else's.
quantities
The glue package that makes R carry units and uncertainty through the same calculation.
See all parallelDist alternatives → · See all protr alternatives →
Recent activity from parallelDist and protr
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 10mo agoparallelDistparallelDist 0.2.7 drops the C++11 pin for newer Armadillo
- 11mo agoprotrprotr 1.7-5 silences a Debian r-devel check note
- 1y agoprotrprotr 1.7-4 checks alignment dependencies upfront
- 1y agoprotrprotr 1.7-3 detects Biostrings version to find pwalign
- 2y agoprotrprotr 1.7-2 fixes citation key and vignette accessibility
- 2y agoprotrprotr 1.7-1 brings crossSetSim to parity with parSeqSim
- 2y agoprotrprotr 1.7-0 adds crossSetSim for two-set similarity
- 4y agoparallelDistparallelDist 0.2.6: LazyData removed, vignette font swapped
- 4y agoparallelDistparallelDist 0.2.5 changes cosine distance to 1-x
- 7y agoparallelDistparallelDist 0.2.4 fixes the Solaris build
- 7y agoparallelDistparallelDist 0.2.3 adds hamming and cosine measures
- 7y agoparallelDistparallelDist 0.2.2
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between parallelDist and protr?
Both compete on the same themes — maintenance-mode — within Analytics. parallelDist and protr 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 parallelDist better than protr?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. parallelDist and protr 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 parallelDist?
Top parallelDist alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "parallelDist alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/paralleldist for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to protr?
Top protr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "protr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/protr-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.