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Comparison · Infra & APIs
selection.index vs stochvol
A side-by-side editorial comparison of selection.index and stochvol — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:rcpp
selection.index vs stochvol: at a glance
What is selection.index?
A dormant plant-breeding package returns as a genomic selection index suite
selection.index computes selection indices for plant breeding — weighting several traits into one number breeders can rank on. After two years of silence it shipped 2.0.0 in March 2026, and the package is barely recognisable: snake_case throughout, an Rcpp and RcppEigen computational core, and index families for genomic data, marker data, multi-stage trials and constrained genetic gain sitting beside the original phenotypic ones.
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.
selection.index vs stochvol: editorial side-by-side
selection.index
0.0INFRA · APIS
A dormant plant-breeding package returns as a genomic selection index suite
◆ Current state
selection.index computes selection indices for plant breeding — weighting several traits into one number breeders can rank on. After two years of silence it shipped 2.0.0 in March 2026, and the package is barely recognisable: snake_case throughout, an Rcpp and RcppEigen computational core, and index families for genomic data, marker data, multi-stage trials and constrained genetic gain sitting beside the original phenotypic ones.
◆ Where it's heading
The first version series added one function at a time — combinatorial indices, then genetic advance, then mean performance under randomised block designs — against a fixed phenotypic framing. Version 2.0.0 abandons that framing rather than extending it. Genomic and marker information become inputs the package understands, multi-cycle simulation becomes a built-in toolset, and the old combinatorial entry points are replaced by a named lpsi(). The 2.0.1 follow-up is entirely CI and numerical-stability work, which reads like a maintainer bracing a much larger surface.
◆ Prediction
A seventeen-runner CI matrix mirroring every CRAN check flavour, added days after 2.0.0, says the immediate concern is keeping a compiled multi-family package green rather than adding to it. Expect stabilisation releases before anything new.
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 selection.index 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 selection.index or stochvol.
PINstimation
A market-microstructure toolkit that keeps adding estimators as the papers land.
nzilbb.vowels
A vowel-analysis package trimming dependencies after an email address got it archived.
emuR
The R half of the EMU speech database system, fixing what was quietly broken.
BAS
A Bayesian model-averaging package spending its 2.0 on memory, not methods.
tidyplots
tidyplots keeps rebuilding its own foundations rather than layering around them.
See all selection.index alternatives → · See all stochvol alternatives →
Recent activity from selection.index and stochvol
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 5mo agoselection.indexCI expanded to 17 runners after the 2.0.0 rewrite
- 5mo agostochvolSampler crash with constant parameters fixed, plus RcppArmadillo 15
- 5mo agoselection.indexGenomic, marker and multi-stage selection indices on an Rcpp core ⚡
- 6mo agoselection.indexUnspecified general performance improvements
- 1y agostochvolTwo CRAN check notes cleared
- 1y agostochvolProposal variance corrected in the centered parameterisation
- 2y agostochvolCRAN stochvol 3.2.4
- 2y agostochvolRolling-window indexing and inverse gamma prior validation fixed
- 2y agoselection.indexMean performance for randomised block designs
- 3y agostochvolCore C++ sampler routines exported for reuse
- 3y agoselection.indexsel.index() and sel.score.rank() removed for comb.indices()
- 4y agoselection.indexGenetic advance calculation added
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between selection.index and stochvol?
Both compete on the same themes — rcpp — within Infra & APIs. selection.index 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 selection.index better than stochvol?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. selection.index 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 selection.index?
Top selection.index alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "selection.index alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/selection-index 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.