constants
The R package for CODATA constants rebuilt its symbol table on NIST's naming so future updates stop being hand work.
Comparison · Analytics
etn vs qqman
A side-by-side editorial comparison of etn and qqman — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
etn vs qqman: at a glance
What is etn?
etn stopped being an RStudio-server package and became something you can run anywhere.
etn is the R client for the European Tracking Network's acoustic telemetry database, maintained at INBO. The 3.0.0 release routes queries through an API served by the companion etnservice package, so the package no longer requires a session on the ETN RStudio server. Credentials moved out of a connection object and into .Renviron, and the data model was rescoped in 2.0.0 around tag_serial_number so acoustic work is one scope among several rather than the whole package.
What is qqman?
The Manhattan-plot package for GWAS results, finished and dormant since 2017.
qqman does two things: manhattan() and qq() plots for genome-wide association study results. Its six visible releases run from 2014 to a single 2017 packaging fix, and the last release with any user-facing change shipped in 2015. The archive is non-monotonic — a 0.0.0 tag published after 0.1.1 archives the pre-package standalone script — so version order and publication order disagree.
etn vs qqman: editorial side-by-side
etn
0.0ANALYTICS
etn stopped being an RStudio-server package and became something you can run anywhere.
◆ Current state
etn is the R client for the European Tracking Network's acoustic telemetry database, maintained at INBO. The 3.0.0 release routes queries through an API served by the companion etnservice package, so the package no longer requires a session on the ETN RStudio server. Credentials moved out of a connection object and into .Renviron, and the data model was rescoped in 2.0.0 around tag_serial_number so acoustic work is one scope among several rather than the whole package.
◆ Where it's heading
Two arcs run in parallel: widening access, and making room for non-acoustic data. The access work has been deliberate — an API-backed beta in 2024, then a stable release that picks the transport automatically and checks that a local etnservice install matches the deployed one, because the same query returning different results by transport would be worse than requiring the server. The Darwin Core export added in 2.1.0 points the same outward direction, moving data to OBIS and GBIF instead of keeping it in the ETN silo.
◆ Prediction
The cpod scope named in the 2.0.0 notes is the most likely next addition, now that the naming and the API transport are both in place to carry it.
qqman
0.0ANALYTICS
The Manhattan-plot package for GWAS results, finished and dormant since 2017.
◆ Current state
qqman does two things: manhattan() and qq() plots for genome-wide association study results. Its six visible releases run from 2014 to a single 2017 packaging fix, and the last release with any user-facing change shipped in 2015. The archive is non-monotonic — a 0.0.0 tag published after 0.1.1 archives the pre-package standalone script — so version order and publication order disagree.
◆ Where it's heading
The real development window was 2014 to 2015. The 0.1.2 release did the substantive work, replacing the assumption that SNPs are evenly distributed across chromosomes and handing users control of axis limits, labels and log transformation; 0.1.3 then added annotation by p-value threshold and top-SNP-per-chromosome. After that the package stops. Notably, the archival 0.0.0 entry records that the original script had confidence intervals on QQ plots and richer highlighting than the released package ever regained.
◆ Prediction
With one packaging fix in the last decade, these entries support no prediction of further releases. The package reads as complete for its narrow purpose rather than abandoned mid-arc.
Alternatives to etn and qqman
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 etn or qqman.
austraits
The R client for AusTraits spends its releases chasing the dataset it reads.
ggdemetra
A ggplot2 layer for seasonal adjustment output, filling in one plot type at a time.
fossilsim
A fossil-record simulator that quietly grew a trait-evolution engine.
tern.rbmi
Reference-based multiple imputation tables, shipping only what CRAN checks demand.
tern.mmrm
An MMRM tabulation package that has published nothing since its 2024 CRAN releases.
Recent activity from etn and qqman
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 5mo agoetnetn runs off the ETN RStudio server via the etnservice API ⚡
- 6mo agoetnData model rescoped; acoustic becomes one named scope
- 6mo agoetnwrite_dwc() exports telemetry as Darwin Core for OBIS and GBIF
- 6mo agoetndepth_in_meters added to acoustic detections
- 6mo agoetnwrite_dwc() fixes for uppercase project codes
- 6mo agoetnNA formatting and duplicate receiver ID fixes
- 9y agoqqmanREADME image path fix for pandoc
- 11y agoqqmanAnnotate SNPs by p-value threshold or per-chromosome top hit
- 11y agoqqmanChromosome ticks stop assuming even SNP spacing; axis control opens up
- 12y agoqqmanArchival tag for the pre-package standalone script
- 12y agoqqmanVignette touch-up
- 12y agoqqmanZenodo archival tag, no code change
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between etn and qqman?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. etn and qqman 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 etn better than qqman?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. etn and qqman 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 etn?
Top etn alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "etn alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/etn-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to qqman?
Top qqman alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "qqman alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/qqman-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.