silx
silx settles into maintenance a release after its PySide6 migration
Comparison · Analytics
geoarrow-r vs Holistics
A side-by-side editorial comparison of geoarrow-r and Holistics — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
geoarrow-r vs Holistics: at a glance
What is geoarrow-r?
geoarrow tracks the GeoArrow spec and otherwise just keeps compiling
geoarrow gives R zero-copy access to geospatial data in the Arrow columnar format, with conversions to and from sf and wk. The package is thin by design — most of the work lives in vendored copies of geoarrow-c and nanoarrow — and its release notes reflect that: the substantive one in the window implemented GeoArrow 0.2 specification features, and everything since has been compiler warnings and a test fixed for a new sf version.
What is Holistics?
Holistics is adding governance to the AI layer it spent the summer building.
Holistics ships small, frequent notes - often one or two sentences - covering three strands at once: AI features in Explore and Chat, as-code control over presentation through AML, and workspace hygiene like file history and dark mode. The August entries turn to the AI layer's edges rather than its capabilities, with an AI user attribute for restricting what the assistant can reach. Several entries are barely a line long, so scope frequently has to be read from the headline.
geoarrow-r vs Holistics: editorial side-by-side
geoarrow-r
0.0ANALYTICS
geoarrow tracks the GeoArrow spec and otherwise just keeps compiling
◆ Current state
geoarrow gives R zero-copy access to geospatial data in the Arrow columnar format, with conversions to and from sf and wk. The package is thin by design — most of the work lives in vendored copies of geoarrow-c and nanoarrow — and its release notes reflect that: the substantive one in the window implemented GeoArrow 0.2 specification features, and everything since has been compiler warnings and a test fixed for a new sf version.
◆ Where it's heading
Development is downstream of two things the package does not control: the GeoArrow specification and the C libraries it vendors. When the spec added non-PROJJSON CRS types and spheroidal edge interpolations, the R package followed; when the geoarrow.box type appeared, it gained conversions to and from wk::rct(). Between those, releases exist to keep CRAN builds green. The type-selection work in 0.4.0 — letting callers force geoarrow.wkb output when converting from sf — is the only recent change driven by R-side ergonomics rather than upstream.
◆ Prediction
Given that every feature release so far has implemented a spec revision, the next one likely arrives when GeoArrow publishes its next set of extension types rather than on any schedule of its own.
Holistics
5.0ANALYTICS
Holistics is adding governance to the AI layer it spent the summer building.
◆ Current state
Holistics ships small, frequent notes - often one or two sentences - covering three strands at once: AI features in Explore and Chat, as-code control over presentation through AML, and workspace hygiene like file history and dark mode. The August entries turn to the AI layer's edges rather than its capabilities, with an AI user attribute for restricting what the assistant can reach. Several entries are barely a line long, so scope frequently has to be read from the headline.
◆ Where it's heading
The AI work has moved through a recognizable sequence: capability first with chart suggestions, then observability with AI Chat Insights for admins, and now access control with an AI-specific user attribute. Alongside it, Holistics keeps pulling presentation into AML - custom charts, theme palettes, currency formats - so the things analysts used to click are versioned as code. File history is the join between the two threads, giving every dashboard, model, and dataset its own restorable timeline.
◆ Prediction
With capability, visibility, and access control now in place for the AI layer, the next step is likely audit or policy depth - logging what the assistant answered against which data - rather than new AI surfaces.
Alternatives to geoarrow-r and Holistics
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 geoarrow-r or Holistics.
Plotly
Plotly is turning its cloud into a metered compute platform with an enterprise on-ramp.
aniread
aniread stops asking you to know which tracker wrote the file
Rho
Rho's release machinery finally produced a stable build — and it shipped no new product.
Usermaven
Usermaven closed the loop: data comes in from anywhere, and now it goes back out.
OpenCTI
OpenCTI spends a release unblocking queues and hardening upserts
See all geoarrow-r alternatives → · See all Holistics alternatives →
Recent activity from geoarrow-r and Holistics
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 2d agoHolisticsAI user attribute restricts AI access to sensitive data
- 16d agoHolisticsCustom currency and unit formats, per field
- 19d agoHolisticsFile history: per-file version timeline and restore
- 22d agoHolisticsCustom charts become AML code with GUI authoring
- 23d agoHolisticsColor palettes can be assigned at the theme level
- 27d agoHolisticsDate-range presets and typed shorthands
- 2mo agogeoarrow-rgeoarrow 0.4.3
- 9mo agogeoarrow-rgeoarrow 0.4.1
- 11mo agogeoarrow-rgeoarrow lets callers choose the geometry type when converting from sf
- 1y agogeoarrow-rgeoarrow implements the GeoArrow 0.2 specification features
- 2y agogeoarrow-rgeoarrow 0.2.1
- 2y agogeoarrow-rLegacy geoarrow tagged before the rewrite
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between geoarrow-r and Holistics?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Holistics is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 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 geoarrow-r better than Holistics?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Holistics is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 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 geoarrow-r?
Top geoarrow-r alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "geoarrow-r alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/geoarrow-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Holistics?
Top Holistics alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Holistics alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/holistics for the full list with editorial commentary on each.