fasterRaster 8.4.1.0 (2025-06-17)
Code-breaking changes
o rnormRast() is now rNormRast().
o runifRast() is now rUnifRast().
New functions and functionality
o addons() now reports the names of all installed addons or whether a given addon is installed.
o installAddon() installs an addon.
o removeAddon() deletes an addon.
o centroids() now calculates centroids of clumps in a GRaster.
o multivarEnvSim() calculates multivariate environmental similarity (MESS).
o neighborhoodMatrix() generates a neighborhood matrix from a polygons GVector.
o rWalkRast() creates a raster with the path of random walkers.
o ruggedness() now allows for calculation of the terrain ruggedness index across user-defined windows with distance-based weighting.
fasterRaster 8.4.0.7 (2025-04-24)
CRAN release: 2025-04-25
o Removed dependency on rpanel because its dependency on tclk did not work with Docker images. Replaced with version dependency on omnibus’s screenRes() function.
fasterRaster 8.4.0.6 (2025-03-26)
o faster(debug = TRUE) displays the GRASS command for each GRASS tool called in a fasterRaster function.
o GVector[i] works for cases with long is.
o Fixes to help pages.
fasterRaster 8.4.0.5 (2025-02-25)
CRAN release: 2025-02-25
o Added vignette “3-dimensional objects”.
o [ is faster.
o %in% and match() work when faster(useDataTable = FALSE) and table argument is a character.
o extract() is faster.
o fast() has better error catching for vectors.
o spatSample() is faster when values or cats is TRUE.
o Fixes issues when linking to rgrass and terra documentation noted by R Bivand and R Hijmans.
fasterRaster 8.4.0.3 (2024-12-15)
CRAN release: 2024-12-17
Bug and issue fixes
o Many minor fixes for CRAN submission!
o Comparison between a string and a categorical GRaster using logical operators like < or == returns a categorical raster.
o as.factor() is now properly exported.
o centroids() has the option to exit gracefully if the addons check fails.
o crds() now works for GVectors that lacked an internal GRASS database. Hidden function .crds() accepts a cats argument, making it potentially faster.
o fast() correctly defines region on import of raster.
o mow() example works.
o spatSample() works when sampling by stratum.
o .rbind() is a hidden function which accepts a cats argument that concatenates vectors faster than rbind().
o Issues with some examples were fixed.
fasterRaster 8.4.0.0 (2024-11-20)
Potentially code-breaking changes
o By default, fasterRaster now uses data.frames, not data.tables from the data.table package (see ?faster).
o Removed option clean from faster(). Files are now removed from the GRASS cache as needed.
o mow() can delete a single GRaster or GVector, a list of rasters and/or vectors, or all objects in a particular environment.
Enhanced functionality and new functions
o centroids() locates the center of GVectors.
o coordRef() returns information about an object’s coordinate reference system.
o project() is now much faster when projecting a GRaster using the terra or fallback values for res.
o spatSample() is faster.
o Support for GRASS addons and methods based on them!!!
Bug and issue fixes
o GVector[i] does not fail when all geometries are selected.
o Comparison with categorical GRasters (e.g., <, ==, etc.) does not fail when faster('useDataTable') is FALSE.
o droplevels() does not fail when faster('useDataTable') is FALSE.
o levels() does not fail when faster('useDataTable') is FALSE.
o segregate() works when setting useDataTable is FALSE.
o subset() no longer fails.
o subst() does not fail when faster('useDataTable') is FALSE.
fasterRaster 8.4.0.7028 (2024-10-24)
Enhanced functionality and new functions
o grassHelp() can show the GRASS manual “table of contents” (argument "toc").
o longlat() can now return rasters with cell values equal to their coordinates in map units (previously, only coordinates in degrees were returned).
o For functions that are complicated or have extended references, added a note to the @seealso tag to see the respective GRASS manual page using grassHelp().
Bug and issue fixes
o project() correctly restores the user’s “location” to that of the newly projected GRaster.
fasterRaster 8.4.0.7027 (2024-10-15)
Main task for this version
o Test examples with GRASS 8.4 and update functions as needed. Upgrade to fasterRaster 8.4.X.X.
Updates for GRASS 8.4
o addLocationProject() adds either a project or location argument to a list to be passed to rgrass::execGRASS().
o project() work with GRASS 8.4.
o .vAttachDatabase() no longer has the "o" flag when calling v.db.connect when running GRASS >=8.4.
Potentially code-breaking changes
o aggregate() no longer has the dissolve argument for GVectors (polygons will always be dissolved).
o combineCats() has been renamed concats() to align with terra.
o intercept(), slope(), r2(), and tvalue() have been replaced by the single function regress() to align with terra.
o pca() has been renamed princomp().
Enhanced functionality and new functions
o extract() now automatically projects a GVector to match the CRS of a GRaster from which extraction is being made.
o grassGUI() allows users to start the GRASS GUI.
o grassHelp() shows the manual page for a GRASS tool.
o layerIndex() allows a negate argument to get the “opposite” indices of a GRaster.
o init() assigns to GRaster cells the value of their coordinates, rows, columns, or values in a regular or chessboard-like pattern.
o regress() replaces individual functions intercept(), slope(), r2(), and tvalue().
o subset() subsets layers of a GRaster or rows/geometries of a GVector.
o segregate() creates one layer per unique value in an input GRaster, with values in the output coded 1 or 0 depending on whether cells in the input had the unique value or not.
Bug and issue fixes
o appFuns() succeeds in opening a shiny table with app() functions.
o categories() correctly assigns active category column.
o crds() correctly returns coordinates from a “points” GVector.
o distance() correctly parses distance matrix.
o simplifyGeom() works for 2-dimensional GVectors.
o flow() creates a scratch folder when none is provided.
o global() does not fail when multiple values of fun and probs are used and fun includes quantile.
o rasterize() works when by is not NULL.
o .layerIndex() (called by categories() and other functions related to categorical GRasters) does not fail.
o .vHasDatabase() correctly detects if a vector has a database attached to it.
o Removed all instances of sQuote().
fasterRaster 8.3.0.7025 (2024-09-19)
o Main task: Port tutorials to vignettes
Bug fixes
o bioclims() calculates BIO55-60.
Other changes:
o bioclims() displays progress more satisfyingly.
fasterRaster 8.3.0.7024 (2024-09-17)
o Added pkgdown site!!! (Experimental…)
Bug fixes
o bioclims() calculates BIO07 even when BIO05 and BIO06 were not explicitly called.
o faster() accepts a names list as an argument.
fasterRaster 8.3.0.7022 (2024-09-07)
Main task of this pre-release
o Examples in all help files have been checked and, if needed, either they or the calling function(s) have been fixed. See “Bug fixes and speed-ups” below.
New functions and functionality
o dim3d() returns the “region’s” dimensions when called with no arguments.
o global() calculates quantiles much faster (minutes vs. weeks) for very large rasters.
o layerCor() by default calculates inter-GRaster correlation.
o reorient() converts facing angles between north and east orientations.
o terrain() can return slope and aspect in radians, and allows a custom value to be set for undefined aspects.
o Default value of memory in faster() is now 2 GB.
Potentially co-breaking changes
o global() argument prob changed to probs because it can accommodate more than one value.
o horizonHeight() function now uses argument step instead of directions. o Removed sd() and sdpop() and replaced with stdev().
Bug fixes and speed-ups
o atan2() works!
o extract() extracts!
o fast() can convert a SpatRaster with one or more layers that are a subset of a larger SpatRaster into a GRaster without error.
o fractalRast() is faster.
o freq() work when the input is a categorical GRaster.
p interpSplines() bug causing lambda values to not be returned fixed.
o horizonHeight() returns GRasters that can be used directly in sun().
o plotRGB() is no longer stuck in an infinite loop an infinite loop an infinite loop an infinite loop an infinite loop an infinite loop an infinite loop.
o rSpatialDepRast() is faster.
o replace_double_square_brackets works!
o simplifyGeom() works when using the “dp” or “dpr” methods.
o spatSample() works when byStratum = TRUE.
o subset_dollar bug fixed related to rationalization of dim() and res().
o subset_double_square_brackets works for i = missing and j = not missing.
o subset_single_bracket works for x[i, j] when neither i nor j are missing.
o sun() works with GRasters from horizonHeight().
o terrain() works when all methods (v = '*') are called.
o update() retains a GVector’s data table.
o vegIndex() fixed bug parsing index.
o zonal() works when zones are set by a GVector.
fasterRaster 8.3.0.7021 (2024-08-03)
Potentially co-breaking changes
o Renamed terrainRuggednessIndex() to ruggedness().
o Renamed topoWetnessIndex() to wetness().
New functions and functionality
o [ (subset_single_bracket) can use a GRaster inside the [] to specify what cells in a GRaster to subset.
o [<- (replace_single_square_bracket) can use a GRaster inside the [] to specify what cells in a GRaster are re-assigned.
o bioclims() is a new function that calculates the “classic” and “extended” set of BIOCLIM rasters. It works on GRasters and SpatRasters!
o faster() now has option clean, which enables automatic deletion of temporary files created by functions.
o mow() is a new function that removes unused raster and vector files from the GRASS cache.
o project() now has a verbose argument for displaying progress.
o sineRast() now accepts arguments for amplitude.
o tiles() is a new function that creates spatially exclusive subsets from GRasters.
Issues and bug fixes
o spatSample() now works when values = TRUE.
fasterRaster 8.3.0.7020 (2024-07-05)
+: Denotes potentially code-breaking changes
New functions and functionality
o sineRast(): Creates sine wave rasters.
Changes in functionality
o distance() now works for calculation of distances between two GVectors or a GVector and itself.
o + extract() and + spatSample(): Changed default value of cats argument to TRUE.
o fragmentation() is much faster for SpatRasters and for both SpatRasters and GRasters, can display progress.
o + plot() is faster for very large rasters. Replaced argument maxcell with simplify.
o show() displays long raster names properly.
fasterRaster 8.3.0.7019 (2024-06-08)
Bug fixes
o not.na(): Fixed bug causing incorrect answer.
fasterRaster 8.3.0.7018 (2024-06-07)
+: Denotes potentially code-breaking changes
New functions and functionality
o + spatSample(): Much faster (though not actually fast…) for large samples taken from GRasters. Removed argument seed for GRaster signature, and added argument verbose to give you something to watch.
o freq(): Added `function-specific example.
fasterRaster 8.3.0.7017 (2024-06-02)
+: Denotes potentially code-breaking changes
New functions and functionality
o rast(): Attaches the GRaster’s levels table to the SpatRaster output.
o + rasterize(): Rewritten to perform (nearly) the same as terra::rasterize().
o predict(): Can accommodate models with two-way interactions between categorical rasters and between a categorical predictor and a scalar.
o scalepop(): Scales GRasters by population standard deviation.
o Stops with a somewhat informative error when a GRaster fails to be created (in hidden function .makeGRaster())
Issues
o writeRaster(): Correctly assign datatype to CELL rasters.
O + cor() and cov() removed and incorporated into layerCor()
Bug fixes
o activeCat() and activeCats(): Fixed bug introduced by previous fix.
o activeCat(): Correct output when names = TRUE.
o expanse(): Expanded list of units; correct assignation of units to GRASS unit format.
o extract(): Extracting from a GRaster to a lines or polygons GVector works.
o fast(): Fixed bug arising when reading vector saved by writeRaster().
o + global(): Removed functions "countNA" and "countNonNA" from global() since GRASS tool r.report can be mistaken.
o nacell() and nonnacell(): Correct (but slow~~~) reporting of NA and non-NA cells (workaround of error in GRASS’s r.report tool).
fasterRaster 8.3.0.7016 (2024-05-27)
Functionality
o Added streams() for calculating location of stream channels from a DEM.
o Added terrainRuggednessIndex() for calculating the terrain ruggedness index.
o unscale() can skip unscaling of rasters by supplying NA in the center and/or scale vectors.
o writeRaster() will now automatically choose the “least-lossy” datatype for a stack of rasters.
o More robust checking of whether a vector is topologically valid or not when using fast(), and added option to aggregate or disaggregate polygons to overcome the issue.
Bug fixes
o crop() correctly sets westernmost coordinate (was inappropriately too far west, in some cases).
o extend() works when the “extension” factor is a integer.
o GRasters can now be multiplied by, divide by, added to, or subtracted from numerics in scientific notation format.
o hist() now works with factor GRasters.
o plot() relies on writeRaster() for datatype (which is better).
o writeRaster() saves all-NA rows and columns.
fasterRaster 8.3.0.7015 (2024-05-21)
Bug fixes
o [ now works for large GVectors (i.e., >1M geometries).
o Fixed behind-scenes issue arising when a CRS string couldn’t be parsed to a shorter version (.locationCreate() and related).
fasterRaster 8.3.0.7014 (2024-05-17)
Functionality
o Added function flow() for calculating flow of water across a landscape.
o Added function flowPath() for calculating flow of water from specific points on a landscape.
o freq() inserts category labels into results for for categorical GRasters.
o Added function geomorphons() for identifying geomorphological features.
o Added function maskNA() for converting non-NA cells or NA cells to a user-defined value.
o plot() displays of levels of categorical rasters.
o Can save layer-by-layer with writeRaster().
o Added ability to create points GVectors from numeric, matrices, or data frames using fast().
o Improved auto-assessment of raster datatype in writeRaster().
o Updated README for 8.3.0.7013!
Bug fixes
o [ works consistently for GVectors!!!!!
o Hidden function .makeGVector() now catches cases with zero extent for polygons.
o Fixed installation issue related to activeCat()<- and addCats()<- (thank you, @kbondo1!)
o Fixed bug in arithmetic when determining data type of an input raster.
o crds() works when the GRASS vector has an attribute table.
o extract() extracts values from GVectors for large numbers of points without crashing.
o plot() works! (Previous issue arose from changing output of writeRaster() to GRaster).
o rast() correctly returns a SpatRaster.
o vect() correctly returns a SpatVector.
Issues
o Removed rasterPrecision option and now use internal function .getPrec() to ascertain the proper precision of rasters.
o Option to fail in creation of GRaster or a polygons GVector if it would have a zero extent.
Changes
o complete.cases() and missing.cases() return logical vectors for vectors with no data tables (was integer vectors).
fasterRaster 8.3.0.7007 (2024-05-01)
Functionality
o Added function classify().
o Added function subst().
o Added function combineLevels().
o Added hidden function .plot().
o For functions and cases where it is appropriate, the “levels” table of an input GRaster is passed to the output.
o fragmentation() works for windows sizes > 3 and for GRasters.
Bug fixes
o writeRaster() correctly assigns levels to categorical rasters with >1 layer.
o Fixed bug in [[<- that passed incorrect dimensions (then failed).
Issues
o [ selects geometries from a GRaster, overcoming mis-selection by GRASS
o Removed datatype() method for signature SpatRaster
fasterRaster 8.3.0.7003 (2024-03-15)
Bug fixes
o Fix bug setting extent for new raster in crop()
fasterRaster 8.3.0.7001 (2024-03-15)
Alpha release of new, intuitive fasterRaster emulating and interoperable with terra!!!
fasterRaster 0.7.1 (2022-08-05a)
- Changed uses of class() t* inherits()… fixes bug in fasterFocal() (and elsewhere?)
fasterRaster 0.7.0 (2022-06-07)
- fasterRaster can now use objects from terra and sf packages! Thanks for the suggestion, Miika!
fasterRaster 0.6.0 (2020-09-04)
- Add generic function faster() that call most GRASS modules easily
- Add fasterContour(): Contours from rasters
- Add fasterConvertDegree(): Convert degrees
- Add fasterMapcalc(): Raster calculation
- Add fasterSun(): Solar irradiation and radiation
- Add fasterSurfFractal(): Fractal raster
- Add fasterTopoidx(): Topographic wetness index
- Revealed initGrass(): Now you can use it, too!
- User can provide names of objects created by GRASS in most functions
- Update PROJ4 strings in data objects
- Update help a lot