rnaturalearth
rnaturalearth finished its sp exit and is now optimising how the data actually arrives.
Comparison · Analytics
rotl vs see
A side-by-side editorial comparison of rotl and see — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
rotl vs see: at a glance
What is rotl?
rotl's whole release history is keeping name matching honest against a moving taxonomy.
Nearly every entry concerns `tnrs_match_names()`, the function that maps user-supplied names onto Open Tree taxonomy ids. 3.1.0 changed which taxon wins a multi-way match — highest matching score rather than lowest OTT id, reversing the rule 3.0.4 introduced. 3.0.12 defaulted `context_name` to 'All life' so a context inferred from the first name could not silently skew later ones. 3.0.11 made a total failure to match return an empty tibble with a warning instead of an error. The rest are small fixes tracking Open Tree API changes.
What is see?
see grows wherever easystats adds a diagnostic, one plot method at a time.
see is the visualization layer for the easystats ecosystem, supplying plot() methods for performance, parameters and datawizard objects. Each release adds methods for whatever those packages shipped — prior predictive checks, DAG diagrams, factor-analysis graphs — alongside steady theme and geom refinement.
rotl vs see: editorial side-by-side
rotl
0.0ANALYTICS
rotl's whole release history is keeping name matching honest against a moving taxonomy.
◆ Current state
Nearly every entry concerns `tnrs_match_names()`, the function that maps user-supplied names onto Open Tree taxonomy ids. 3.1.0 changed which taxon wins a multi-way match — highest matching score rather than lowest OTT id, reversing the rule 3.0.4 introduced. 3.0.12 defaulted `context_name` to 'All life' so a context inferred from the first name could not silently skew later ones. 3.0.11 made a total failure to match return an empty tibble with a warning instead of an error. The rest are small fixes tracking Open Tree API changes.
◆ Where it's heading
The recurring problem is ambiguity: names match several taxa, and the package has changed its tie-breaking rule twice while making failures and edge cases return predictable objects rather than errors. Nothing here expands what rotl can retrieve; it makes what it retrieves reproducible. The feed also stops in mid-2023, so the package appears dormant.
◆ Prediction
Nothing in the window suggests new capability. If a release comes, the pattern says it will follow an Open Tree API change or another matching-behaviour correction.
see
0.0ANALYTICS
see grows wherever easystats adds a diagnostic, one plot method at a time.
◆ Current state
see is the visualization layer for the easystats ecosystem, supplying plot() methods for performance, parameters and datawizard objects. Each release adds methods for whatever those packages shipped — prior predictive checks, DAG diagrams, factor-analysis graphs — alongside steady theme and geom refinement.
◆ Where it's heading
Growth here is downstream-driven rather than self-directed: see expands to cover new diagnostics as easystats produces them. Running alongside that is a sustained investment in presentation control — theme arguments on plot methods, elements that scale with base_size — which suits users embedding these plots in documents rather than glancing at them interactively.
◆ Prediction
Expect new plot methods to keep arriving in step with performance and parameters releases, with continued theming work rather than any change in the package's scope.
Alternatives to rotl and see
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 rotl or see.
writexl
writexl spent nine years refusing to do formatting, then shipped all of it in 2.0.0.
rgbif
rgbif is steadily pushing users off paged searching and onto real downloads.
rstanarm
rstanarm is community-maintained now, tracking Stan and lme4 rather than adding models.
taxa
taxa started a ground-up rewrite in 2021 and has published almost nothing since.
taxize
taxize spends its releases absorbing other people's API changes, one dead source at a time.
Recent activity from rotl and see
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agoseesee 0.14.1 adds plots for prior checks and grouped means
- 2mo agoseesee 0.14.0 renders factor loadings as node-edge graphs
- 6mo agoseesee 0.13.0 fixes reversed plot sorting, adds theme arguments
- 11mo agoseesee 0.12.0 extends normality checks to psych factor models
- 1y agoseesee 0.11.0 scales theme elements with base_size
- 1y agoseesee 0.10.0 plots random-effect group levels for mixed models
- 3y agorotlrotl 3.1.0 matches on score instead of lowest OTT id
- 4y agorotlrotl 3.0.12 defaults matching context to All life
- 5y agorotlrotl 3.0.11 returns empty tibble when no names match
- 6y agorotlrotl 3.0.10 tracks Open Tree API updates
- 7y agorotlrotl 3.0.9 tracks Open Tree API updates
- 7y agorotlrotl 3.0.7 updates vignette for TNRS endpoint change
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between rotl and see?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. rotl and see 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 rotl better than see?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. rotl and see 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 rotl?
Top rotl alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "rotl alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rotl for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to see?
Top see alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "see alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/see-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.