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Comparison · Analytics

etn vs tern.mmrm

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

etn vs tern.mmrm: at a glance

Featureetntern.mmrm
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesr, telemetry, marine-science, api-clientpharmaverse, mmrm, tabulation, maintenance
Last editorial update4h ago1h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

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.

Read the full etn trajectory →

What is tern.mmrm?

An MMRM tabulation package that has published nothing since its 2024 CRAN releases.

tern.mmrm wraps mixed models for repeated measures into the tern tabulation and plotting layer used by teal clinical modules. The visible history ends with three CRAN releases in mid-to-late 2024; before that the feed carries only automated version bumps from 2022, three of which have just been backfilled into the record. The most recent substantive change adds axis limit arguments to the LS-means plot.

Read the full tern.mmrm trajectory →

etn vs tern.mmrm: editorial side-by-side

E
etn
ANALYTICS
0.0

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.

T
tern.mmrm
ANALYTICS
0.0

An MMRM tabulation package that has published nothing since its 2024 CRAN releases.

◆ Current state

tern.mmrm wraps mixed models for repeated measures into the tern tabulation and plotting layer used by teal clinical modules. The visible history ends with three CRAN releases in mid-to-late 2024; before that the feed carries only automated version bumps from 2022, three of which have just been backfilled into the record. The most recent substantive change adds axis limit arguments to the LS-means plot.

◆ Where it's heading

Content per release is thin and largely organisational: a maintainer change, replacing scda with random.cdisc.data in vignettes, and adapting to new {mmrm} versions. The package appears to be in maintenance, tracking its upstream dependency rather than developing independently. The 2022 entries now visible are release-automation commits, not releases in any meaningful sense.

◆ Prediction

Nothing here signals new functionality; the realistic next event is another compatibility release when {mmrm} or {rtables} changes underneath it.

Alternatives to etn and tern.mmrm

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 tern.mmrm.

See all etn alternatives → · See all tern.mmrm alternatives →

Recent activity from etn and tern.mmrm

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

  1. 5mo agoetnetn runs off the ETN RStudio server via the etnservice API
  2. 6mo agoetnData model rescoped; acoustic becomes one named scope
  3. 6mo agoetnwrite_dwc() exports telemetry as Darwin Core for OBIS and GBIF
  4. 6mo agoetndepth_in_meters added to acoustic detections
  5. 6mo agoetnwrite_dwc() fixes for uppercase project codes
  6. 6mo agoetnNA formatting and duplicate receiver ID fixes
  7. 1y agotern.mmrmAxis limits added to the LS-means plot
  8. 2y agotern.mmrmMaintainer change and scda replaced in vignettes
  9. 2y agotern.mmrmCRAN 0.3.0 release, mostly workflow housekeeping
  10. 3y agotern.mmrmAutomated version bump to 0.2.1
  11. 3y agotern.mmrmPre-release branch merge
  12. 4y agotern.mmrmCI automation commit, no release content

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between etn and tern.mmrm?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. etn and tern.mmrm 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 tern.mmrm?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. etn and tern.mmrm 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 tern.mmrm?

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