ggpointless
ggpointless keeps adding the ggplot2 layers nobody else bothered to write.
Comparison · Infra & APIs
campsis vs Cobbler
A side-by-side editorial comparison of campsis and Cobbler — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
campsis vs Cobbler: at a glance
What is campsis?
Campsis breaks its API on purpose: snake_case throughout, RxODE compatibility cut loose.
Campsis runs clinical-trial simulations from pharmacometric models, sitting on mrgsolve and rxode2 as interchangeable engines, with the sibling package Campsismod supplying the model object layer. Version 1.9.0 is the release where the suite stops carrying its history: the whole API migrates to snake_case, backward compatibility with the old RxODE package is removed, and result processing is refactored into output functions that can be applied as a collection, with an NCA table the first substantial one. Campsismod made the same snake_case move a week earlier, so this is a suite-wide rename rather than one package's decision.
What is Cobbler?
A backport branch kept alive for downstreams, with the main line nowhere in sight.
Every release in Cobbler's visible history describes itself the same way: backports from main to make Cobbler more stable for the community. The 3.3.x line has absorbed real work under that framing — collection indices, lazy loading, new XML-RPC endpoints — but none of it originates here. The most recent item is a 3.2.3 build carrying the CVE-2024-47533 fix to an older branch, with its Fixed and Added sections left as literal TBD placeholders.
campsis vs Cobbler: editorial side-by-side
campsis
3.8INFRA · APIS
Campsis breaks its API on purpose: snake_case throughout, RxODE compatibility cut loose.
◆ Current state
Campsis runs clinical-trial simulations from pharmacometric models, sitting on mrgsolve and rxode2 as interchangeable engines, with the sibling package Campsismod supplying the model object layer. Version 1.9.0 is the release where the suite stops carrying its history: the whole API migrates to snake_case, backward compatibility with the old RxODE package is removed, and result processing is refactored into output functions that can be applied as a collection, with an NCA table the first substantial one. Campsismod made the same snake_case move a week earlier, so this is a suite-wide rename rather than one package's decision.
◆ Where it's heading
The 1.8 and 1.9 releases together describe a package being made drivable from outside R. JSON interfaces arrived first for models in Campsismod 1.3.0 and for datasets in Campsis 1.8.0, then extended to scenarios, settings and study replication; the output side has now been generalised the same way, from fixed result processing to a collection of output functions applied to simulated results. Renaming every function and cutting RxODE loose is the cost of that consolidation, paid in one deliberate breaking release rather than spread across several.
◆ Prediction
With the rename and the RxODE removal behind it, the next releases should restore the rxode2 engine to the test suite, which 1.9.0 removed temporarily, and continue filling out the output-function catalogue beyond NCA. The JSON surface looks like the intended entry point for driving Campsis from outside R, though the entries do not say what is meant to consume it.
Cobbler
0.0INFRA · APIS
A backport branch kept alive for downstreams, with the main line nowhere in sight.
◆ Current state
Every release in Cobbler's visible history describes itself the same way: backports from main to make Cobbler more stable for the community. The 3.3.x line has absorbed real work under that framing — collection indices, lazy loading, new XML-RPC endpoints — but none of it originates here. The most recent item is a 3.2.3 build carrying the CVE-2024-47533 fix to an older branch, with its Fixed and Added sections left as literal TBD placeholders.
◆ Where it's heading
This is a stabilization branch serving downstream packagers rather than a product advancing on its own. The work that does land splits cleanly into three buckets: distribution coverage (Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, AlmaLinux, RHEL9, openSUSE and SLE signatures), API surface for integrators, and security backports. 3.3.3 flagged dump_vars as the replacement for get_blended_data as of 3.4.0 — a version that has not appeared in any release since.
◆ Prediction
Expect continued single-purpose backports to 3.3.x and older branches as CVEs surface; the entries give no indication of when or whether the 3.4.0 work these releases keep deferring to will ship.
Alternatives to campsis and Cobbler
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 campsis or Cobbler.
mpactr
mpactr spent two spring releases normalizing case in metadata after users kept tripping on it.
surveytidy
surveytidy taught every dplyr verb to operate on a whole collection of surveys at once.
surveycore
surveycore declared its API stable with every survey design type covered.
PEIMAN2
PEIMAN2 cut its annotation database loose from its release cycle without breaking CRAN.
prospectr
prospectr spent its biggest release in years fixing spectra it had been quietly mangling.
See all campsis alternatives → · See all Cobbler alternatives →
Recent activity from campsis and Cobbler
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 15d agocampsissnake_case across the API; RxODE compatibility removed ⚡
- 1mo agoCobblerCobbler 3.2.3 backports the CVE-2024-47533 admin API fix
- 5mo agocampsisJSON arguments reach Dataset, Scenarios and Settings
- 7mo agocampsisMaintenance release for future package warnings
- 7mo agocampsisJSON import for Campsis datasets
- 1y agocampsisDosing gains vectorized compartments and cycle repetition
- 1y agocampsisParameter uncertainty from SIR and bootstrap output
- 1y agoCobblerCobbler 3.3.7 closes an admin-API authentication bypass
- 2y agoCobblerCobbler 3.3.6 adds EFI support to buildiso
- 2y agoCobblerCobbler 3.3.5 adds collection indices and lazy loading
- 2y agoCobblerCobbler 3.3.4 extends packaging to Ubuntu 22.04 and Debian 12
- 4y agoCobblerCobbler 3.3.3 adds resolved-value XML-RPC endpoints for Uyuni
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between campsis and Cobbler?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. campsis is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 3.8 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is campsis better than Cobbler?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. campsis is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 3.8 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to campsis?
Top campsis alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "campsis alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/campsis for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Cobbler?
Top Cobbler alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Cobbler alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/cobbler for the full list with editorial commentary on each.