cheapr
cheapr turned multi-threaded, and its next stop is a C++20 public API.
Comparison · Analytics
rncl vs tidypolars
A side-by-side editorial comparison of rncl and tidypolars — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
rncl vs tidypolars: at a glance
What is rncl?
A phylogenetics parser on life support, shipping only what CRAN's compilers demand.
rncl wraps the Nexus Class Library so R can read Newick and NEXUS tree files. Every release since 2016 has been custodial: 0.8.9 exists solely to pull upstream NCL changes so the bundled C++ compiles under the C++20 standard. No user-facing function has changed in close to a decade.
What is tidypolars?
tidypolars is grinding toward complete dplyr coverage, one supported function at a time
tidypolars lets you write dplyr and tidyr syntax against Polars DataFrames and LazyFrames. Its releases follow a fixed shape: raise the required polars version, add a handful of newly supported R functions and arguments, fix places where behaviour diverges from dplyr. Recent additions run from %notin% and as.integer() to .before/.after in mutate() and time zone handling in datetime parsing. Cadence is roughly every six to ten weeks and has not varied.
rncl vs tidypolars: editorial side-by-side
rncl
2.5ANALYTICS
A phylogenetics parser on life support, shipping only what CRAN's compilers demand.
◆ Current state
rncl wraps the Nexus Class Library so R can read Newick and NEXUS tree files. Every release since 2016 has been custodial: 0.8.9 exists solely to pull upstream NCL changes so the bundled C++ compiles under the C++20 standard. No user-facing function has changed in close to a decade.
◆ Where it's heading
The release cadence tracks toolchain deprecations rather than user demand: gcc 12 removing binary_function in 2022, a deprecated Rcpp call in 2025, C++20 in 2026. The package is maintained as a stable parsing dependency for phylogenetics tooling, and the goal visible in these entries is keeping it installable, not extending it.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next release only when a compiler or CRAN policy change breaks the build again; nothing in these entries points to new parsing features.
tidypolars
0.0ANALYTICS
tidypolars is grinding toward complete dplyr coverage, one supported function at a time
◆ Current state
tidypolars lets you write dplyr and tidyr syntax against Polars DataFrames and LazyFrames. Its releases follow a fixed shape: raise the required polars version, add a handful of newly supported R functions and arguments, fix places where behaviour diverges from dplyr. Recent additions run from %notin% and as.integer() to .before/.after in mutate() and time zone handling in datetime parsing. Cadence is roughly every six to ten weeks and has not varied.
◆ Where it's heading
Coverage is the whole strategy, and the target has been widening from dplyr into tidyr — unnest_longer_polars(), separate_longer_delim_polars() and separate_longer_position_polars() bring list-column and string-splitting verbs that have no Polars-idiomatic equivalent in the tidyverse dialect. The other consistent thread is fidelity: distinct() dropping unselected columns, summarize() dropping the last group, relocate() honouring tidy-select helpers, NULL in mutate() behaving as dplyr does. Each of these is a small breaking change made to match the reference rather than to differ from it.
◆ Prediction
The pattern of tracking the polars floor upward every release and following tidyverse changes closely — .by in fill() arrived when tidyr 1.3.2 shipped it — suggests the next releases continue mirroring new dplyr and tidyr arguments rather than adding a distinct capability.
Alternatives to rncl and tidypolars
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 rncl or tidypolars.
RadialMR
RadialMR's 2026 release corrects degrees of freedom that had been wrong since documentation.
mrbayes
mrbayes spent 2026 auditing its own Bayesian MR estimators for coding errors.
lineup2
lineup2 ships once every few years, and 2026's release is a logo and a core-count tweak.
stringi
stringi has spent two years on build hardening since its Unicode 15.1 reset.
OHPL
A 2017 chemometrics method frozen in place, visited only when CRAN changes its documentation rules.
See all rncl alternatives → · See all tidypolars alternatives →
Recent activity from rncl and tidypolars
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 15d agornclNCL sources refreshed for C++20 compilation
- 1mo agotidypolarstidypolars 0.19.0
- 4mo agotidypolarstidypolars 0.18.0
- 6mo agotidypolarstidypolars 0.17.0
- 6mo agotidypolarstidypolars 0.16.0
- 8mo agornclDeprecated Rcpp call removed in maintenance release
- 9mo agotidypolarstidypolars 0.15.1
- 9mo agotidypolarstidypolars 0.15.0
- 4y agornclBuild fixed for gcc 12 and clang 14
- 6y agornclMaintenance release clearing CRAN check warnings
- 8y agornclCRAN check notes and warnings cleared
- 9y agornclSingleton removal moves to C++ for a 3x speedup
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between rncl and tidypolars?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. rncl is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is rncl better than tidypolars?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. rncl is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to rncl?
Top rncl alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "rncl alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rncl-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to tidypolars?
Top tidypolars alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "tidypolars alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/tidypolars for the full list with editorial commentary on each.