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Comparison · Analytics
rstantools vs spatsoc
A side-by-side editorial comparison of rstantools and spatsoc — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
rstantools vs spatsoc: at a glance
What is rstantools?
The scaffolding layer for Stan-backed R packages, maintained rather than extended.
rstantools generates and maintains the build infrastructure that lets an R package ship Stan models — the inst/stan layout, the auto-generated C++, the Rcpp module loading, and the posterior_* generics downstream packages implement. Its releases are dominated by keeping that scaffolding compiling as Stan, StanHeaders, and rstan move underneath it. Version 2.7.0 continues that pattern, its one user-facing change being an allowance for deprecated syntax in specified versions of specified packages.
What is spatsoc?
One maintainer, one or two new collective-motion metrics per release, for two years straight
spatsoc turns animal relocation data into spatial and social groupings — dyads, fission-fusion events, group centroids — and the recent history is a metronomic accretion of collective-motion measures on top of that base. Since late 2024 nearly every release has added one or two: polarization, direction to leader, position along the group axis, directional correlation delay, edge alignment, edge zones. Development is essentially single-handed; almost every merged PR in this window carries the same author.
rstantools vs spatsoc: editorial side-by-side
rstantools
2.5ANALYTICS
The scaffolding layer for Stan-backed R packages, maintained rather than extended.
◆ Current state
rstantools generates and maintains the build infrastructure that lets an R package ship Stan models — the inst/stan layout, the auto-generated C++, the Rcpp module loading, and the posterior_* generics downstream packages implement. Its releases are dominated by keeping that scaffolding compiling as Stan, StanHeaders, and rstan move underneath it. Version 2.7.0 continues that pattern, its one user-facing change being an allowance for deprecated syntax in specified versions of specified packages.
◆ Where it's heading
This is a stable dependency in maintenance mode, and the release history reads accordingly: compatibility shims for new rstan and Stan RNG versions, C++ standard bumps, and pkgdown housekeeping. The last substantive API growth was 2.5.0's loo_epred() generic and discrete-data loo_pit(). Contributor churn is visible in recent releases, with several first-time contributors handling infrastructure rather than statistics.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next releases to continue tracking Stan and rstan breakage as it arrives; nothing in the recent entries points to new generics or a change in the package-generation model.
spatsoc
0.0ANALYTICS
One maintainer, one or two new collective-motion metrics per release, for two years straight
◆ Current state
spatsoc turns animal relocation data into spatial and social groupings — dyads, fission-fusion events, group centroids — and the recent history is a metronomic accretion of collective-motion measures on top of that base. Since late 2024 nearly every release has added one or two: polarization, direction to leader, position along the group axis, directional correlation delay, edge alignment, edge zones. Development is essentially single-handed; almost every merged PR in this window carries the same author.
◆ Where it's heading
The December 2025 release changes register. Alongside three new calc_distance / calc_direction / calc_centroid functions and an internal assertion family, it deprecates the `projection` argument in favour of `crs` and lands a round of checks and tests explicitly staged ahead of a new spatial interface. Read together, that is a package finishing its metric catalogue and starting to rework the coordinate-handling layer underneath it to match modern R-spatial conventions — the same evolution that made it drop its startup warning back in 0.2.7.
◆ Prediction
The next release is likely the spatial-interface rework the 0.2.12 test and assertion work was staged for, with `projection` moving from deprecated to removed. Feature additions should slow while that lands.
Alternatives to rstantools and spatsoc
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 rstantools or spatsoc.
DoseFinding
New stewardship at openpharma, then two releases adding the methods MCP-Mod was missing
webmockr
The stubbing library added httr2 support, then spent a year cutting itself free of everything else
crul
crul took mocking back from webmockr and made it a property of the client itself
dendroNetwork
Six releases, six identical bodies — the feed carries the package abstract instead of release notes
chattr
chattr deleted every LLM integration it had written and outsourced the lot to ellmer
See all rstantools alternatives → · See all spatsoc alternatives →
Recent activity from rstantools and spatsoc
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 19d agorstantoolsDeprecated syntax allowed for pinned package versions
- 7mo agorstantoolspkgdown theme refresh, C++14 dropped from SystemRequirements
- 8mo agospatsoccalc_* functions added; projection deprecated ahead of a spatial rework
- 10mo agospatsocEdge zones and edge direction added; centroid NA handling fixed
- 11mo agospatsocEdge alignment metric added
- 11mo agorstantoolsloo_epred() generic added, loo_pit() extended to discrete data
- 1y agospatsocLeader edge delay added; units dependency moves to a CRAN release
- 1y agospatsocDirectional correlation delay added; longlat direction bug fixed
- 1y agospatsocLeadership and group-axis position measures added
- 2y agorstantoolsStandalone Stan functions fixed for rstan 2.33+
- 3y agorstantoolsinit_cpp deprecated, standalone-function bugfix under Stan 2.31
- 3y agorstantoolsC++17 standard adopted, standalone function export reworked
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between rstantools and spatsoc?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. rstantools 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 rstantools better than spatsoc?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. rstantools 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 rstantools?
Top rstantools alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "rstantools alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rstantools for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to spatsoc?
Top spatsoc alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "spatsoc alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/spatsoc for the full list with editorial commentary on each.