cIRT
A choice-based IRT model published once in 2019 and kept compiling ever since
Comparison · Analytics
betaselectr vs fmtr
A side-by-side editorial comparison of betaselectr and fmtr — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-package
betaselectr vs fmtr: at a glance
What is betaselectr?
Standardised coefficients for models where standardising everything is wrong — but the feed only links out
betaselectr computes standardised coefficients selectively, for models where blanket standardisation misleads — interaction terms, categorical predictors and moderated effects, where standardising the product term or a dummy variable produces a number that does not mean what readers assume. It has been on CRAN since November 2024 across three releases. What those releases contain cannot be determined from this feed.
What is fmtr?
Rebuilding SAS's formatting layer in R, one format specification at a time
fmtr applies formats to R data the way SAS applies them: named format catalogues, format lists, and an fapply() that maps a specification onto a vector. It is part of a family of packages that reconstruct SAS reporting idioms in R, and it shares infrastructure with them — labels.data.frame() was moved out to the common package, which fmtr now depends on. The recent releases have been closing specific gaps against SAS's own format vocabulary.
betaselectr vs fmtr: editorial side-by-side
betaselectr
0.0ANALYTICS
Standardised coefficients for models where standardising everything is wrong — but the feed only links out
◆ Current state
betaselectr computes standardised coefficients selectively, for models where blanket standardisation misleads — interaction terms, categorical predictors and moderated effects, where standardising the product term or a dummy variable produces a number that does not mean what readers assume. It has been on CRAN since November 2024 across three releases. What those releases contain cannot be determined from this feed.
◆ Where it's heading
This changelog carries no release content. Every entry is a pointer to the CRAN page and to a changelog hosted on the package's own site, so the direction of development is not readable from what is published here. What the version numbers alone support is a package that reached CRAN in late 2024 and has issued two patch releases since, at roughly six-month intervals, without a minor version bump.
◆ Prediction
No prediction is supportable from these entries; the feed would need to carry actual release notes, or the package's own site would need to be read directly, before its direction could be called.
fmtr
0.0ANALYTICS
Rebuilding SAS's formatting layer in R, one format specification at a time
◆ Current state
fmtr applies formats to R data the way SAS applies them: named format catalogues, format lists, and an fapply() that maps a specification onto a vector. It is part of a family of packages that reconstruct SAS reporting idioms in R, and it shares infrastructure with them — labels.data.frame() was moved out to the common package, which fmtr now depends on. The recent releases have been closing specific gaps against SAS's own format vocabulary.
◆ Where it's heading
The direction is parity, pursued in small increments. Quarter format codes were added because base R has none; the SAS best. format was reimplemented, then hardened against the variations people actually write; statistical summary helpers like fmt_mean_sd() and fmt_mean_stderr() cover the cell contents clinical tables need. The structural work is largely behind it, including the breaking 2022 move that handed labelling to a sibling package, so what remains is vocabulary coverage.
◆ Prediction
The pattern of adding a SAS format, then a release to handle its variants, suggests the next releases continue filling in format codes and summary helpers rather than changing how formats are applied.
Alternatives to betaselectr and fmtr
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 betaselectr or fmtr.
MetaboAnalystR
The R engine behind MetaboAnalyst closes the gap from raw spectra to biological interpretation
SSN2
Stream-network spatial models learning to run on data that no longer fits in memory
BiocManager
Bioconductor's installer, frozen at 1.30.x and tuned almost entirely through environment variables
dcurves
Decision curve analysis, settled since 2022 and now moving only when its neighbours do
hubAdmin
The config-authoring half of hubverse, pinned to whatever the schema is doing this quarter
See all betaselectr alternatives → · See all fmtr alternatives →
Recent activity from betaselectr and fmtr
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 9mo agobetaselectrCRAN Release 0.1.3
- 10mo agofmtrMean and standard error helper, plus best-format variants
- 11mo agofmtrSAS best. format reimplemented in fapply()
- 1y agobetaselectrCRAN Release 0.1.2
- 1y agobetaselectrCRAN Release 0.1.0
- 2y agofmtrQuarter format codes %q and %Q added
- 2y agofmtrFormat lists become readable and writable files
- 2y agofmtrDocumentation and examples expanded
- 2y agofmtrvalue() can return results as a factor
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between betaselectr and fmtr?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. betaselectr and fmtr 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 betaselectr better than fmtr?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. betaselectr and fmtr 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 Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to betaselectr?
Top betaselectr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "betaselectr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/betaselectr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to fmtr?
Top fmtr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "fmtr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/fmtr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.