tidytlg
A tables-listings-graphs package that reached CRAN and then went quiet.
Comparison · Analytics
DoseFinding vs mapsf
A side-by-side editorial comparison of DoseFinding and mapsf — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
DoseFinding vs mapsf: at a glance
What is DoseFinding?
New stewardship at openpharma, then two releases adding the methods MCP-Mod was missing
DoseFinding implements MCP-Mod and related dose-response methodology for clinical trial design and analysis. In 2024 it changed hands — Marius Thomas took over as maintainer, Novartis was recorded as copyright holder and funder, and the package moved to the openpharma GitHub organisation with roxygen documentation and a proper NEWS file. The two releases since have added substantive methodology: model averaging for dose-response fitting in 1.3-1, and conditional and predictive power for interim analyses in 1.4-1.
What is mapsf?
Thematic mapping in base R that finally got a theming system, then spent two years polishing legends.
mapsf produces thematic maps on R's base graphics device — choropleths, proportional symbols, typology maps, rasters, and their combinations, with legends, scale bars, north arrows, and insets as composable elements. Version 1.0.0 was the structural release, introducing a theming system that deprecated eight scattered styling arguments and adding mf_png() and mf_svg() export helpers plus alpha transparency across map types. The 1.1.x and 1.2.x line since then has been steady refinement: background and extent control on the drawing functions, decimal and thousands-separator control in legends, and label placement arguments.
DoseFinding vs mapsf: editorial side-by-side
DoseFinding
0.0ANALYTICS
New stewardship at openpharma, then two releases adding the methods MCP-Mod was missing
◆ Current state
DoseFinding implements MCP-Mod and related dose-response methodology for clinical trial design and analysis. In 2024 it changed hands — Marius Thomas took over as maintainer, Novartis was recorded as copyright holder and funder, and the package moved to the openpharma GitHub organisation with roxygen documentation and a proper NEWS file. The two releases since have added substantive methodology: model averaging for dose-response fitting in 1.3-1, and conditional and predictive power for interim analyses in 1.4-1.
◆ Where it's heading
The pattern before the handover was maintenance — R-devel compliance, a bug fix, a link. After it, each release carries a named methodological addition with an acknowledged contributor, plus documentation to match: a longitudinal analysis vignette shipped alongside the interim power work. Housekeeping continues underneath, mostly clearing deprecated ggplot2 interfaces, aes_string in one release and qplot in the next.
◆ Prediction
Given the last two releases each added one method with a supporting vignette, expect the next to follow the same shape. Both additions so far extend the package beyond fixed dose-response fitting, so adaptive and interim methodology is the more likely direction.
mapsf
0.0ANALYTICS
Thematic mapping in base R that finally got a theming system, then spent two years polishing legends.
◆ Current state
mapsf produces thematic maps on R's base graphics device — choropleths, proportional symbols, typology maps, rasters, and their combinations, with legends, scale bars, north arrows, and insets as composable elements. Version 1.0.0 was the structural release, introducing a theming system that deprecated eight scattered styling arguments and adding mf_png() and mf_svg() export helpers plus alpha transparency across map types. The 1.1.x and 1.2.x line since then has been steady refinement: background and extent control on the drawing functions, decimal and thousands-separator control in legends, and label placement arguments.
◆ Where it's heading
The package has been consolidating control into fewer, more consistent places. Legend handling moved out to the maplegend package in 0.8.0 and the per-element mf_legend_* functions were deprecated in favor of arguments on the map calls themselves; theming replaced ad-hoc style arguments in 1.0.0; and recent releases keep propagating the same argument vocabulary — bg, extent, leg_val_rnd, leg_val_dec, leg_val_big — across every function that should accept it. Determinism is a visible concern too, with 1.2.1 fixing a seed so mf_distr() point positions stop moving between runs.
◆ Prediction
The recent releases are almost entirely argument-parity work across existing functions, so expect that to continue until the vocabulary is uniform rather than any new map type appearing.
Alternatives to DoseFinding and mapsf
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 DoseFinding or mapsf.
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 DoseFinding alternatives → · See all mapsf alternatives →
Recent activity from DoseFinding and mapsf
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agomapsfLabel placement arguments and deterministic distribution plots
- 2mo agomapsfBackground and extent control across the drawing functions
- 7mo agomapsfPNG resolution control and legend number formatting
- 1y agoDoseFindingConditional and predictive power for interim analyses
- 1y agomapsf1.0.0 introduces theming and deprecates eight style arguments ⚡
- 1y agoDoseFindingModel averaging arrives for dose-response fitting ⚡
- 1y agomapsfPencil-sketch layers, ckmeans breaks, and border extraction
- 1y agoDoseFindingPackage moves to openpharma under new maintainership
- 2y agomapsfGraticule label display fix
- 2y agoDoseFindingCompliance update for R-devel
- 3y agoDoseFindingpowMCTBinCount bug fix
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between DoseFinding and mapsf?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. DoseFinding and mapsf 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 DoseFinding better than mapsf?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. DoseFinding and mapsf 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 DoseFinding?
Top DoseFinding alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "DoseFinding alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/dosefinding for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to mapsf?
Top mapsf alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "mapsf alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/mapsf for the full list with editorial commentary on each.