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Comparison · Infra & APIs
stRoke vs volcalc
A side-by-side editorial comparison of stRoke and volcalc — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
stRoke vs volcalc: at a glance
What is stRoke?
Split itself in two, keeping the stroke-trial functions and exporting the rest
stRoke is now deliberately narrow: functions for handling clinical stroke trial data, mostly questionnaire scoring such as pase_calc() for PASE and mfi_calc() for MFI domain scores. It reached that state by subtraction — the 24.10.1 release moved eight general-purpose helpers out to a separate package, project.aid, and stated the change of focus in the notes. The most recent release, 25.9.1, is an eighty-character note about accommodating upcoming ggplot2 changes.
What is volcalc?
Rebuilt itself around SMILES and .mol input, then made the chemistry configurable
volcalc estimates the volatility of chemical compounds from their structure, implementing the SIMPOL.1 group-contribution method and the Meredith et al. variant. Version 2.0.0 severed the package from KEGG: calc_vol() takes .mol file paths or SMILES strings directly, is vectorized over multiple compounds, and the group-contribution maths was split into its own simpol1() function. Work since has been chemistry accuracy and configurability — the full set of SIMPOL.1 functional groups, volatility thresholds for clean atmosphere, polluted atmosphere or soil, user-supplied temperature, and a validate option returning NA when structure parsing looks suspect.
stRoke vs volcalc: editorial side-by-side
stRoke
0.0INFRA · APIS
Split itself in two, keeping the stroke-trial functions and exporting the rest
◆ Current state
stRoke is now deliberately narrow: functions for handling clinical stroke trial data, mostly questionnaire scoring such as pase_calc() for PASE and mfi_calc() for MFI domain scores. It reached that state by subtraction — the 24.10.1 release moved eight general-purpose helpers out to a separate package, project.aid, and stated the change of focus in the notes. The most recent release, 25.9.1, is an eighty-character note about accommodating upcoming ggplot2 changes.
◆ Where it's heading
The package uses calendar versioning and its history is one of scope being repeatedly redrawn: ds2dd() went to REDCapCAST in 2023, then the general data and project management helpers went to project.aid in 2024. What remains is domain-specific and slow-moving, and the past eleven months produced a single compatibility release. The maintainer's visible effort has moved to the sibling packages.
◆ Prediction
Expect further questionnaire scoring functions if the maintainer's own trials need them and compatibility releases otherwise; on the pattern set in 24.10.1, more of the remaining general-purpose functions could still migrate to project.aid.
volcalc
0.0INFRA · APIS
Rebuilt itself around SMILES and .mol input, then made the chemistry configurable
◆ Current state
volcalc estimates the volatility of chemical compounds from their structure, implementing the SIMPOL.1 group-contribution method and the Meredith et al. variant. Version 2.0.0 severed the package from KEGG: calc_vol() takes .mol file paths or SMILES strings directly, is vectorized over multiple compounds, and the group-contribution maths was split into its own simpol1() function. Work since has been chemistry accuracy and configurability — the full set of SIMPOL.1 functional groups, volatility thresholds for clean atmosphere, polluted atmosphere or soil, user-supplied temperature, and a validate option returning NA when structure parsing looks suspect.
◆ Where it's heading
The arc runs from a script tied to one database toward a general structure-to-volatility tool. Dropping KEGG from the core in 2.0.0, then removing KEGGREST as a dependency entirely in 2.2.0, took the package from volatility for KEGG compounds to volatility for any structure a user can supply. The accompanying manuscript published in 2023, and the changelog since has been careful about coefficient double-counting — amines and amides have each been corrected — which suggests the group definitions are the part under active scrutiny.
◆ Prediction
The smarts_simpol1 dataset added in 2.2.0 documents how functional groups are defined, pointing toward further estimation methods alongside SIMPOL.1 and Meredith; splitting simpol1() out in 2.0.0 was stated to be groundwork for exactly that.
Alternatives to stRoke and volcalc
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 stRoke or volcalc.
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incident.io
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Warp
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Okta
Okta's developer blog is a Cross App Access campaign, now diluted by advocacy-team storytelling.
tealeaves
A leaf-temperature model that finished its job in 2020 and has stayed finished
See all stRoke alternatives → · See all volcalc alternatives →
Recent activity from stRoke and volcalc
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 10mo agostRokeCompatibility update for upcoming ggplot2 changes
- 1y agovolcalcParsing validation, user-supplied temperature, KEGGREST dropped
- 1y agostRokeScope narrowed to stroke trials; eight helpers moved to project.aid ⚡
- 2y agovolcalcAuthorship and citation updates
- 2y agovolcalcSMILES input, environment-specific thresholds, missing functional groups
- 2y agovolcalcRebuilt around .mol and SMILES input; SIMPOL.1 split into simpol1() ⚡
- 2y agostRokeChunking, string extraction and padding helpers added
- 3y agovolcalcAmines group removed to stop double-counting with primary amines
- 3y agovolcalcbug fix: standard temperature
- 3y agostRokeFix for ds2dd() after first practical use
- 3y agostRokePASE questionnaire scoring with data-quality checks
- 3y agostRokeFirst release: color_plot() built on contrast_text()
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between stRoke and volcalc?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. stRoke and volcalc 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 stRoke better than volcalc?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. stRoke and volcalc 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 stRoke?
Top stRoke alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "stRoke alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/stroke for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to volcalc?
Top volcalc alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "volcalc alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/volcalc for the full list with editorial commentary on each.