tidytlg
A tables-listings-graphs package that reached CRAN and then went quiet.
Comparison · Analytics
DoseFinding vs tern
A side-by-side editorial comparison of DoseFinding and tern — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:clinical-trials
DoseFinding vs tern: 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 tern?
tern is migrating its entire analysis-function catalogue off make_afun(), one release at a time.
tern builds the clinical-trial tables, listings, and graphs layer on top of rtables — occurrence counts, survival summaries, ANCOVA, incidence rates, subgroup and biomarker tabulations. The visible work across the window is a systematic refactor: dozens of analysis functions rewritten to drop make_afun() and adopt a common analysis-function style driven by rtables' additional_fun_params. Feature additions ride along with it.
DoseFinding vs tern: 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.
tern
0.0ANALYTICS
tern is migrating its entire analysis-function catalogue off make_afun(), one release at a time.
◆ Current state
tern builds the clinical-trial tables, listings, and graphs layer on top of rtables — occurrence counts, survival summaries, ANCOVA, incidence rates, subgroup and biomarker tabulations. The visible work across the window is a systematic refactor: dozens of analysis functions rewritten to drop make_afun() and adopt a common analysis-function style driven by rtables' additional_fun_params. Feature additions ride along with it.
◆ Where it's heading
This is a multi-release architectural migration, not incremental polish. Each release converts another batch of functions, and the count is large — roughly two dozen in the most recent entry alone, after a comparable batch the release before. Alongside it, the denom parameter is being threaded through counting functions and g_lineplot is accumulating layout control, both patterns of standardising arguments that previously varied per function.
◆ Prediction
The refactor should continue until the make_afun() dependency is gone entirely, with the remaining tabulate_* and biomarker functions the likely next batch; the entries give no date for completion.
Alternatives to DoseFinding and tern
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 tern.
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 tern alternatives →
Recent activity from DoseFinding and tern
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1y agoDoseFindingConditional and predictive power for interim analyses
- 1y agoternTwo dozen more analysis functions drop make_afun() ⚡
- 1y agoDoseFindingModel averaging arrives for dose-response fitting ⚡
- 1y agoterndenom threading, custom statistics, and compare_vars merged in
- 1y agoternRisk-difference columns for subgroup tables
- 1y agoDoseFindingPackage moves to openpharma under new maintainership
- 2y agoterng_lineplot gains faceting and axis controls
- 2y agoDoseFindingCompliance update for R-devel
- 3y agoDoseFindingpowMCTBinCount bug fix
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between DoseFinding and tern?
Both compete on the same themes — clinical-trials — within Analytics. DoseFinding and tern 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 tern?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. DoseFinding and tern 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 tern?
Top tern alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "tern alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/tern for the full list with editorial commentary on each.