tern.rbmi
Reference-based multiple imputation tables, shipping only what CRAN checks demand.
Comparison · Analytics
enpls vs EpiNow2
A side-by-side editorial comparison of enpls and EpiNow2 — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-package
enpls vs EpiNow2: at a glance
What is enpls?
enpls has not changed its statistics since 2016 — only its website, twice.
enpls implements ensemble partial least squares regression, with variants for feature selection, outlier detection and model applicability. Across the six most recent releases there is not one change to the modeling code. They cover a documentation website, a website URL change, a font stack, code indentation, a CI service, and most recently a GitHub Actions migration with an R CMD check note fix.
What is EpiNow2?
EpiNow2 unified its model interface, then went back to deepen the estimators behind it
EpiNow2 estimates reproduction numbers, infections and delay distributions from incomplete epidemiological reporting data. 1.8.0 was the structural turning point: every main modelling function now returns a consistent S3 object with `fit`, `args` and `observations`, reachable through shared accessors. The releases either side of it work on estimator quality — accumulation of irregularly reported data in 1.7.0, and a substantial expansion of `estimate_truncation()` in 1.9.0.
enpls vs EpiNow2: editorial side-by-side
enpls
0.0ANALYTICS
enpls has not changed its statistics since 2016 — only its website, twice.
◆ Current state
enpls implements ensemble partial least squares regression, with variants for feature selection, outlier detection and model applicability. Across the six most recent releases there is not one change to the modeling code. They cover a documentation website, a website URL change, a font stack, code indentation, a CI service, and most recently a GitHub Actions migration with an R CMD check note fix.
◆ Where it's heading
The statistical work finished around version 5.6, which added cross-validation fold control and fixed component selection when the maximum was left unspecified. Everything since has kept the package installable and its docs online. The 2025 release arriving the same day as sibling package grex, with the same two fixes, confirms the pattern: these are maintainer sweeps across a portfolio, not attention to enpls specifically.
◆ Prediction
The next release will almost certainly be another CRAN or tooling fix. Six consecutive infrastructure-only releases across nine years give no basis for expecting new methods.
EpiNow2
0.0ANALYTICS
EpiNow2 unified its model interface, then went back to deepen the estimators behind it
◆ Current state
EpiNow2 estimates reproduction numbers, infections and delay distributions from incomplete epidemiological reporting data. 1.8.0 was the structural turning point: every main modelling function now returns a consistent S3 object with `fit`, `args` and `observations`, reachable through shared accessors. The releases either side of it work on estimator quality — accumulation of irregularly reported data in 1.7.0, and a substantial expansion of `estimate_truncation()` in 1.9.0.
◆ Where it's heading
The package spent this window paying down interface debt and is now extending from the tidier base. Options that existed only for `estimate_infections()` have been propagated outward: `estimate_truncation()` gained the full `dist_spec` delay families, `obs_opts()` observation model selection between Poisson and negative binomial, and the `likelihood` and `return_likelihood` settings that make prior-only fits and loo-compatible output possible. Hardcoded assumptions are being replaced by specifiable ones in the same motion — the truncation model's additive noise term was a fixed `sigma ~ normal(0, 1)` prior and is now a `dist_spec` argument.
◆ Prediction
Expect the remaining modelling functions to keep converging on the shared options interface, since the last two releases have each moved another function onto it. A new `estimate_dist()` for interval-censored linelist data suggests delay estimation is the area still gaining surface.
Alternatives to enpls and EpiNow2
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 enpls or EpiNow2.
tern.mmrm
An MMRM tabulation package that has published nothing since its 2024 CRAN releases.
ggmagnify
A single-purpose ggplot2 inset tool, refining the same three arguments.
symengine
An R symbolic-maths binding whose changelog is really the C++ core's release notes.
gtfstools
gtfstools stopped guarding its own object model and started accepting everyone else's.
quantities
The glue package that makes R carry units and uncertainty through the same calculation.
See all enpls alternatives → · See all EpiNow2 alternatives →
Recent activity from enpls and EpiNow2
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agoEpiNow2estimate_truncation gains full delay and observation options
- 6mo agoEpiNow2Unified return objects and shared accessors across all models ⚡
- 1y agoenplsenpls 6.1.1 moves pkgdown to GitHub Actions
- 1y agoEpiNow2Patch for an upstream rstan issue
- 1y agoEpiNow2Accumulation for irregularly reported data; unified priors
- 1y agoEpiNow2Matern kernel spectral density fix and GP prior revert
- 1y agoEpiNow2Gaussian Process model improvements and explicit defaults
- 7y agoenplsenpls 6.1 adopts tidyverse code style
- 8y agoenplsenpls 6.0 changes the documentation URL
- 8y agoenplsenpls 5.9 drops Google Fonts from vignettes
- 9y agoenplsenpls 5.8 updates gallery images, enables HTTPS
- 9y agoenplsenpls 5.7 adds a pkgdown site and Windows CI
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between enpls and EpiNow2?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. enpls and EpiNow2 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 enpls better than EpiNow2?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. enpls and EpiNow2 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 enpls?
Top enpls alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "enpls alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/enpls for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to EpiNow2?
Top EpiNow2 alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "EpiNow2 alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/epinow2 for the full list with editorial commentary on each.