tidytlg
A tables-listings-graphs package that reached CRAN and then went quiet.
Comparison · Analytics
bundle vs simtrial
A side-by-side editorial comparison of bundle and simtrial — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
bundle vs simtrial: at a glance
What is bundle?
Four releases in three years, each one teaching the serializer about a model type it couldn't carry
bundle solves a narrow, real problem: many R model objects hold pointers to external state — compiled boosters, Java handles, torch tensors — that do not survive being saved and reloaded in another session. It wraps them so they do. The package has shipped four releases since 2022, and the shape of each is the same: extend coverage to another model class, or repair coverage that an upstream release broke.
What is simtrial?
A fixed-design trial simulator grew a pluggable test framework, then spent a year proving the numbers
simtrial simulates time-to-event clinical trials and applies the tests used to analyse them — logrank, weighted logrank, MaxCombo, RMST, milestone. The 0.4.0 release turned it from a fixed-sample simulator into a group sequential one and standardised every test behind a common output contract, and the releases since have been about making that machinery correct and fast enough to run at scale. Version 1.0.0 arrived in June 2025 with the API settled and three vignettes explaining both the one-call and build-it-yourself paths.
bundle vs simtrial: editorial side-by-side
bundle
0.0ANALYTICS
Four releases in three years, each one teaching the serializer about a model type it couldn't carry
◆ Current state
bundle solves a narrow, real problem: many R model objects hold pointers to external state — compiled boosters, Java handles, torch tensors — that do not survive being saved and reloaded in another session. It wraps them so they do. The package has shipped four releases since 2022, and the shape of each is the same: extend coverage to another model class, or repair coverage that an upstream release broke.
◆ Where it's heading
Coverage is the product, so the release cadence is set by the ecosystem rather than by a roadmap. dbarts arrived in 0.1.2, along with extra work to preserve xgboost's nfeatures and feature_names through a round trip; 0.1.3 exists because xgboost changed its model format again. The 0.1.1 fix — recipes steps nested inside workflows — points at the same underlying issue one level up, where the object needing bundling is buried inside a tidymodels pipeline rather than passed directly.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next release to follow the same trigger: either a new parsnip engine that carries external pointers, or another upstream format change in one of the engines already covered. xgboost has now forced two of the four releases.
simtrial
0.0ANALYTICS
A fixed-design trial simulator grew a pluggable test framework, then spent a year proving the numbers
◆ Current state
simtrial simulates time-to-event clinical trials and applies the tests used to analyse them — logrank, weighted logrank, MaxCombo, RMST, milestone. The 0.4.0 release turned it from a fixed-sample simulator into a group sequential one and standardised every test behind a common output contract, and the releases since have been about making that machinery correct and fast enough to run at scale. Version 1.0.0 arrived in June 2025 with the API settled and three vignettes explaining both the one-call and build-it-yourself paths.
◆ Where it's heading
Post-1.0 the work is almost entirely statistical correctness and speed, and it is concentrated in sim_gs_n(): one-sided efficacy bounds, stratified targeted-event cut dates, a helper that derives cuttings straight from the design object. Performance moves in one direction throughout — dplyr replaced by data.table, foreach combination replaced by manual assembly, parallelisation added to sim_fixed_n() — because simulation-based operating characteristics are only useful if you can afford enough replications.
◆ Prediction
The recent fixes cluster on stratified and group sequential paths, so the next release most likely continues there rather than adding a new test type. The cut_from_design() helper suggests tighter coupling to gsDesign2 design objects is the direction of travel.
Alternatives to bundle and simtrial
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 bundle or simtrial.
Tplyr
Tplyr made clinical summary tables explain where every number came from.
rlistings
Clinical listings that keep inheriting their hardest problem — pagination — from the layer below.
hoardr
A cache-directory helper that has shipped nothing but CRAN-triggered patches for seven years.
gigs
gigs redesigned its whole conversion API for rOpenSci, then spent three releases getting the docs to build.
riem
A weather-data client that keeps rewriting its HTTP layer while slowly tightening its API.
See all bundle alternatives → · See all simtrial alternatives →
Recent activity from bundle and simtrial
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 8mo agobundlexgboost bundling updated for newer model versions
- 8mo agosimtrialOne-sided efficacy bound and stratified cut date corrected
- 11mo agosimtrialsim_gs_n moved to data.table; stratified design example added
- 1y agosimtrial1.0.0 settles the wlr interface and documents both simulation paths
- 1y agosimtrialMilestone Z-score denominator corrected; parallel sim_fixed_n arrives
- 1y agobundledbarts BART models become bundleable
- 2y agosimtrialChecks pass without Suggests dependencies
- 2y agosimtrialRMST and milestone tests, plus a user-definable cut and test framework ⚡
- 2y agobundleRecipes steps inside workflows now bundle correctly
- 3y agobundleFirst CRAN release
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between bundle and simtrial?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. bundle and simtrial 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 bundle better than simtrial?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. bundle and simtrial 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 bundle?
Top bundle alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "bundle alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/bundle for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to simtrial?
Top simtrial alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "simtrial alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/simtrial for the full list with editorial commentary on each.