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cfrnow vs tidypolars

A side-by-side editorial comparison of cfrnow and tidypolars — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

cfrnow vs tidypolars: at a glance

Featurecfrnowtidypolars
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score5.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesepidemiology, bayesian-modelling, cfr-estimation, r-packagepolars, r, dplyr, dataframes
Last editorial update3h ago1h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is cfrnow?

A Bayesian real-time CFR estimator that now ships stratified fits and posterior-predictive checks

cfrnow estimates case fatality ratios from line-list data while an outbreak is still running, using a Bayesian mixture-cure survival model registered as an `epidist` model type. Three releases in a month took it from first public release to stratified, partially-pooled fits with posterior-predictive checking. It leans on `distspec` for delay parameterisation, which reached CRAN alongside the 0.2.1 patch.

Read the full cfrnow trajectory →

What is tidypolars?

tidypolars is grinding toward complete dplyr coverage, one supported function at a time

tidypolars lets you write dplyr and tidyr syntax against Polars DataFrames and LazyFrames. Its releases follow a fixed shape: raise the required polars version, add a handful of newly supported R functions and arguments, fix places where behaviour diverges from dplyr. Recent additions run from %notin% and as.integer() to .before/.after in mutate() and time zone handling in datetime parsing. Cadence is roughly every six to ten weeks and has not varied.

Read the full tidypolars trajectory →

cfrnow vs tidypolars: editorial side-by-side

C
cfrnow
ANALYTICS
5.0

A Bayesian real-time CFR estimator that now ships stratified fits and posterior-predictive checks

◆ Current state

cfrnow estimates case fatality ratios from line-list data while an outbreak is still running, using a Bayesian mixture-cure survival model registered as an `epidist` model type. Three releases in a month took it from first public release to stratified, partially-pooled fits with posterior-predictive checking. It leans on `distspec` for delay parameterisation, which reached CRAN alongside the 0.2.1 patch.

◆ Where it's heading

The arc runs from producing a single corrected CFR number toward supporting a full model-checking workflow. 0.2.0 added the pieces a modeller needs to defend an estimate: replicate line lists replayed through the real-time truncation, an ascertainment-ratio correction for when fatal and non-fatal cases enter the line list at different rates, and per-group CFRs from `brms` formulas. Delay coverage widened from LogNormal and Gamma to Weibull in the same release.

◆ Prediction

Expect the next release to keep widening covariate and pooling support rather than adding new outcome types, since every 0.2.0 addition extended the existing formula interface instead of replacing it.

T
tidypolars
ANALYTICS
0.0

tidypolars is grinding toward complete dplyr coverage, one supported function at a time

◆ Current state

tidypolars lets you write dplyr and tidyr syntax against Polars DataFrames and LazyFrames. Its releases follow a fixed shape: raise the required polars version, add a handful of newly supported R functions and arguments, fix places where behaviour diverges from dplyr. Recent additions run from %notin% and as.integer() to .before/.after in mutate() and time zone handling in datetime parsing. Cadence is roughly every six to ten weeks and has not varied.

◆ Where it's heading

Coverage is the whole strategy, and the target has been widening from dplyr into tidyr — unnest_longer_polars(), separate_longer_delim_polars() and separate_longer_position_polars() bring list-column and string-splitting verbs that have no Polars-idiomatic equivalent in the tidyverse dialect. The other consistent thread is fidelity: distinct() dropping unselected columns, summarize() dropping the last group, relocate() honouring tidy-select helpers, NULL in mutate() behaving as dplyr does. Each of these is a small breaking change made to match the reference rather than to differ from it.

◆ Prediction

The pattern of tracking the polars floor upward every release and following tidyverse changes closely — .by in fill() arrived when tidyr 1.3.2 shipped it — suggests the next releases continue mirroring new dplyr and tidyr arguments rather than adding a distinct capability.

Alternatives to cfrnow and tidypolars

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 cfrnow or tidypolars.

See all cfrnow alternatives → · See all tidypolars alternatives →

Recent activity from cfrnow and tidypolars

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 5d agocfrnowdistspec dependency moves to CRAN
  2. 5d agocfrnowStratified CFR fits, Weibull delays, posterior-predictive checks
  3. 1mo agocfrnowFirst release: real-time CFR from a Bayesian mixture-cure model
  4. 1mo agotidypolarstidypolars 0.19.0
  5. 4mo agotidypolarstidypolars 0.18.0
  6. 6mo agotidypolarstidypolars 0.17.0
  7. 6mo agotidypolarstidypolars 0.16.0
  8. 9mo agotidypolarstidypolars 0.15.1
  9. 9mo agotidypolarstidypolars 0.15.0

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between cfrnow and tidypolars?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. cfrnow is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 0.0), with 0 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 cfrnow better than tidypolars?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. cfrnow is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to cfrnow?

Top cfrnow alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "cfrnow alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/cfrnow for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to tidypolars?

Top tidypolars alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "tidypolars alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/tidypolars for the full list with editorial commentary on each.