trackeR
Fitness-tracking analysis in slow maintenance, still absorbing upstream breakage.
Comparison · Infra & APIs
BAS vs Rmonize
A side-by-side editorial comparison of BAS and Rmonize — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
BAS vs Rmonize: at a glance
What is BAS?
A Bayesian model-averaging package spending its 2.0 on memory, not methods.
BAS performs Bayesian variable selection and model averaging for linear and generalized linear models, sampling from a model space too large to enumerate. The visible history splits cleanly: 2023-2024 added sampling machinery — an adaptive independent MCMC sampler with Horvitz-Thompson estimation, hereditary-constraint counting — while 2.0.0 in late 2025 reworked how sampler output is allocated in C. The 2.0.2 patch is a PROTECT fix for rchk warnings.
What is Rmonize?
Collapsed a pile of parameters into one object and renamed every report column
Rmonize supports data harmonization: taking heterogeneous input datasets, applying processing rules against a DataSchema, and producing a harmonized dossier with assessment, summary and visual reports. Version 2.0.0 reshaped how that is driven — the evaluate, summarize and visualize functions now take the dossier alone rather than six or seven parallel arguments — and renamed every column in the assessment and summary outputs into plain language. The package is closely coupled to madshapR, whose changes the notes warn may require updates to existing user code.
BAS vs Rmonize: editorial side-by-side
BAS
0.0INFRA · APIS
A Bayesian model-averaging package spending its 2.0 on memory, not methods.
◆ Current state
BAS performs Bayesian variable selection and model averaging for linear and generalized linear models, sampling from a model space too large to enumerate. The visible history splits cleanly: 2023-2024 added sampling machinery — an adaptive independent MCMC sampler with Horvitz-Thompson estimation, hereditary-constraint counting — while 2.0.0 in late 2025 reworked how sampler output is allocated in C. The 2.0.2 patch is a PROTECT fix for rchk warnings.
◆ Where it's heading
Memory is the binding constraint and the releases say so directly. The hereditary-constraint counter, the GROW option, and the replacement of over-allocation with resizing all attack the same problem: n.models is a guess, and guessing high wastes memory on problems where few unique models are actually visited. The 2.0.0 work was additionally forced by R tightening its C API against non-API calls like SETLENGTH, a constraint every C-heavy CRAN package has been absorbing. Method development has been quiet since 1.7.x.
◆ Prediction
The 1.7.5 notes call the hereditary-constraint counting a first step and say future updates will cover other constraint types, including polynomials, which remain unhandled. That is the one concrete commitment in this history, though nothing since has returned to it.
Rmonize
0.0INFRA · APIS
Collapsed a pile of parameters into one object and renamed every report column
◆ Current state
Rmonize supports data harmonization: taking heterogeneous input datasets, applying processing rules against a DataSchema, and producing a harmonized dossier with assessment, summary and visual reports. Version 2.0.0 reshaped how that is driven — the evaluate, summarize and visualize functions now take the dossier alone rather than six or seven parallel arguments — and renamed every column in the assessment and summary outputs into plain language. The package is closely coupled to madshapR, whose changes the notes warn may require updates to existing user code.
◆ Where it's heading
The arc runs from correctness toward interface. Version 1.0.1 was bug fixes found on real data, 1.1.0 added a debug parameter so harmonization could be tested with incomplete inputs, and 2.0.0 is a deliberate simplification that breaks existing code in exchange for a smaller surface. Renaming outputs from expressions like 'Categories::missing' and 'Nb. non-valid values' to 'Non-valid categories' and 'Number of non-valid values' points at reports being read by people who are not the person who wrote the harmonization rules.
◆ Prediction
Expect the superseded parameters and the renamed demo object to be removed outright rather than left superseded, and continued work on the visual reports, which carry the largest volume of referenced issues across all three versions.
Alternatives to BAS and Rmonize
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 BAS or Rmonize.
states
State-panel tooling holding steady since its 2020 data and ergonomics release.
multimark
Five years of compiler and CRAN fixes on a capture-recapture package.
metagroup
A first release that turns meta-analytic heterogeneity into interpretable subgroups.
vcmeta
A meta-analysis toolkit still renaming its own API as it adds effect sizes.
JointFPM
Recurrent-event modelling settles, with mean_no() promoted to stable.
Recent activity from BAS and Rmonize
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 8mo agoBASBAS 2.0.2
- 8mo agoBASBAS 2.0.0
- 1y agoRmonizeReport functions take a single dossier; output columns renamed ⚡
- 1y agoBASBAS 1.7.5
- 1y agoBASBAS 1.7.3
- 1y agoBASBAS 1.7.2
- 2y agoRmonizeDebug parameter for testing partial harmonizations
- 2y agoRmonizePooled-data handling and report fixes after real-world testing
- 2y agoBASBAS 1.7.1
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between BAS and Rmonize?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. BAS and Rmonize 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 BAS better than Rmonize?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. BAS and Rmonize 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 BAS?
Top BAS alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "BAS alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/bas for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Rmonize?
Top Rmonize alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Rmonize alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/rmonize for the full list with editorial commentary on each.