rollupTree
The recursive-computation engine under massProps grows the accessors its consumer needed
Comparison · Infra & APIs
ShortForm vs stochvol
A side-by-side editorial comparison of ShortForm and stochvol — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
ShortForm vs stochvol: at a glance
What is ShortForm?
Automated scale shortening with lavaan, spending its releases repairing its own search algorithms.
ShortForm automates the creation of short-form psychometric scales by searching for well-fitting subsets of items, using ant colony optimization, simulated annealing and Tabu search over lavaan models. The recent releases are corrective: 0.5.7 fixed the ant colony algorithm failing to update its best model and the simulated annealing routine mis-specifying models containing factor relationships or outcome variables, and 0.5.8 fixed Tabu search under parallel workflows and with multidimensional models. Each release note carries an explicit roadmap listing refactoring for 0.6.0 and input standardisation for 0.7.0, neither of which has shipped.
What is stochvol?
A Bayesian volatility sampler in its maintenance decade, paying for its own speed
stochvol runs MCMC for stochastic volatility models, with a C++ sampler underneath an R interface. Five years of releases in this window contain no new models: the work is compiler and dependency compatibility, CRAN check notes, and a steady trickle of corrections to the sampler itself. Its methodological milestone, the Journal of Statistical Software paper, is recorded in a 2021 tag.
ShortForm vs stochvol: editorial side-by-side
ShortForm
0.0INFRA · APIS
Automated scale shortening with lavaan, spending its releases repairing its own search algorithms.
◆ Current state
ShortForm automates the creation of short-form psychometric scales by searching for well-fitting subsets of items, using ant colony optimization, simulated annealing and Tabu search over lavaan models. The recent releases are corrective: 0.5.7 fixed the ant colony algorithm failing to update its best model and the simulated annealing routine mis-specifying models containing factor relationships or outcome variables, and 0.5.8 fixed Tabu search under parallel workflows and with multidimensional models. Each release note carries an explicit roadmap listing refactoring for 0.6.0 and input standardisation for 0.7.0, neither of which has shipped.
◆ Where it's heading
The defects being fixed are in the search itself rather than around it. An optimizer that does not correctly retain its best candidate, and a search that mis-specifies models after the first iteration, both produce plausible-looking short forms that are not the ones the method should have found, which is a harder class of problem to notice than a crash. Alongside that the package is shedding dependencies, with ggplot2, ggrepel and tidyr dropped from the plotting methods in 0.5.8. The stated intent to refactor the major functions and standardise their arguments suggests the maintainer regards the current interface as the obstacle to further work.
◆ Prediction
The roadmap repeated across these notes points to a 0.6.0 focused on refactoring the major functions, with argument and output standardisation deferred to 0.7.0. On the evidence of this window, more unit tests and further algorithm-level fixes are likelier to arrive first than either milestone.
stochvol
0.0INFRA · APIS
A Bayesian volatility sampler in its maintenance decade, paying for its own speed
◆ Current state
stochvol runs MCMC for stochastic volatility models, with a C++ sampler underneath an R interface. Five years of releases in this window contain no new models: the work is compiler and dependency compatibility, CRAN check notes, and a steady trickle of corrections to the sampler itself. Its methodological milestone, the Journal of Statistical Software paper, is recorded in a 2021 tag.
◆ Where it's heading
This is what a finished computational package looks like. The formula interface arrived at 3.1.0 and nothing has been added since; what changes is the ground underneath — RcppArmadillo major versions, UBSan checks, error-handling conventions moving from Rf_error to Rcpp::stop for correct memory management. The recurring pattern worth watching is that several releases fix real errors in the sampler's proposal distributions, found by users and by CRAN's own instrumented checks rather than by the maintainer.
◆ Prediction
Nothing in these notes suggests new methodology. Expect the next release when RcppArmadillo or a CRAN check flavour forces one, and treat any bug report against the samplers as the more consequential event.
Alternatives to ShortForm and stochvol
Other Infra & APIs 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 ShortForm or stochvol.
massProps
A mass-properties rollup spends a year on documentation and follows its sibling's API
writeAlizer
Six months of releases and not one of them touched the scoring models
samplr
A cognitive-science sampling package ships once, then goes quiet for eighteen months
midr
A black-box interpreter reaches CRAN, then learns multi-class and survival responses
GeoThinneR
Spatial thinning grows a result object, and the API breaks to make room for it
See all ShortForm alternatives → · See all stochvol alternatives →
Recent activity from ShortForm and stochvol
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 3mo agoShortFormTabu search fixed for parallel and multidimensional models
- 3mo agoShortFormAnt colony search failed to retain its best model
- 5mo agostochvolSampler crash with constant parameters fixed, plus RcppArmadillo 15
- 1y agostochvolTwo CRAN check notes cleared
- 1y agoShortFormlavaan model specification defaults made forgiving
- 1y agostochvolProposal variance corrected in the centered parameterisation
- 2y agoShortFormCompatibility fixes for a new lavaan release
- 2y agoShortFormAdapted to changed lavaan error and warning messages
- 2y agostochvolCRAN stochvol 3.2.4
- 2y agoShortFormDefault specification tweaks and documentation fixes
- 2y agostochvolRolling-window indexing and inverse gamma prior validation fixed
- 3y agostochvolCore C++ sampler routines exported for reuse
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between ShortForm and stochvol?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. ShortForm and stochvol 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 ShortForm better than stochvol?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. ShortForm and stochvol 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 Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to ShortForm?
Top ShortForm alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "ShortForm alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/shortform for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to stochvol?
Top stochvol alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "stochvol alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/stochvol for the full list with editorial commentary on each.