metatools
SDTM supplemental-qualifier merging got sturdier, then the package went quiet for two years.
Comparison · Analytics
FedData vs pharmaversesdtm
A side-by-side editorial comparison of FedData and pharmaversesdtm — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
FedData vs pharmaversesdtm: at a glance
What is FedData?
FedData has spent two major versions migrating US federal geodata off R's retiring spatial stack.
FedData downloads and standardises US federal geospatial datasets — NLCD, NHD, NED, SSURGO, Daymet, GHCN, PAD-US, NASS — into consistent R objects. Two breaking majors define the current package: 3.0.0 moved returns to sf and raster and pulled data from cloud-optimised GeoTIFFs, and 4.0.0 finished the job by dropping sp and raster entirely for terra and sf. Recent releases are dataset refreshes, most recently PAD-US 4.0.
What is pharmaversesdtm?
pharmaversesdtm is the test-data layer every pharmaverse package now builds against.
The package ships example SDTM datasets and has grown one therapeutic area at a time — ophthalmology, oncology response criteria, vaccines, metabolic, neurology, and now lymphoma under Lugano 2014. Sibling packages keep moving their internal test data here, so its release notes double as a record of what the rest of the pharmaverse is building.
FedData vs pharmaversesdtm: editorial side-by-side
FedData
0.0ANALYTICS
FedData has spent two major versions migrating US federal geodata off R's retiring spatial stack.
◆ Current state
FedData downloads and standardises US federal geospatial datasets — NLCD, NHD, NED, SSURGO, Daymet, GHCN, PAD-US, NASS — into consistent R objects. Two breaking majors define the current package: 3.0.0 moved returns to sf and raster and pulled data from cloud-optimised GeoTIFFs, and 4.0.0 finished the job by dropping sp and raster entirely for terra and sf. Recent releases are dataset refreshes, most recently PAD-US 4.0.
◆ Where it's heading
The package tracks two moving targets at once: the R spatial stack, which it has now fully migrated onto terra and sf, and the federal agencies whose URLs, file naming and hosting keep shifting. With the dependency migration finished, releases have shrunk to single-dataset updates such as annual NLCD and PAD-US 4.0, which suggests the structural work is done and the ongoing cost is data-source maintenance.
◆ Prediction
Expect continued small releases pinned to new vintages of the underlying federal datasets, plus fixes when an agency moves or reformats a source; no further dependency-level upheaval is visible in these entries.
pharmaversesdtm
0.0ANALYTICS
pharmaversesdtm is the test-data layer every pharmaverse package now builds against.
◆ Current state
The package ships example SDTM datasets and has grown one therapeutic area at a time — ophthalmology, oncology response criteria, vaccines, metabolic, neurology, and now lymphoma under Lugano 2014. Sibling packages keep moving their internal test data here, so its release notes double as a record of what the rest of the pharmaverse is building.
◆ Where it's heading
Two kinds of work alternate: adding domains and biomarkers for a new indication, and making the existing data easier to reach — CSV copies under inst/extdata for non-R programmers, a datasets preview vignette, reference pages categorised by therapeutic area, variable-by-variable breakdowns. Consistency fixes against CDISC terminology and SDTM guidelines run through every release.
◆ Prediction
New therapeutic areas will keep arriving in step with the admiral extension packages that need them; the neurology and metabolic datasets landed just ahead of admiralneuro and admiralmetabolic needing them, and lymphoma looks like the next in that sequence.
Alternatives to FedData and pharmaversesdtm
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 FedData or pharmaversesdtm.
marquee
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logrx
A clinical-script logger that stopped shipping after its 0.2 line, changelogs made of merged PRs.
lobstr
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GSODR
A weather-station data client that broke one return type to hand back distances instead of bare IDs.
giscoR
giscoR's 1.0 moved its dataset index into the cache, so new Eurostat releases arrive without a package update.
See all FedData alternatives → · See all pharmaversesdtm alternatives →
Recent activity from FedData and pharmaversesdtm
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agopharmaversesdtmLymphoma response data and geographic-atrophy tests
- 4mo agopharmaversesdtmCSV exports and microbiology domains for wider access
- 7mo agopharmaversesdtmNeurological SDTM datasets and Alzheimer's biomarkers
- 11mo agopharmaversesdtmMaintainer and licensing update
- 1y agopharmaversesdtmMetabolic SDTM datasets and PCWG3 oncology response
- 1y agoFedDataget_padus() updated to PAD-US 4.0
- 1y agopharmaversesdtmGCIG response data and automated reference pages
- 1y agoFedDataAnnual NLCD access added; get_nass() retired
- 2y agoFedDatasp and raster dropped; everything returns terra or sf ⚡
- 3y agoFedDataGHCN moves to https; NHD handles empty and odd geometries
- 3y agoFedDataAll raster writing moves to terra
- 3y agoFedDataVersion 3 rebuilds on sf and cloud-optimised GeoTIFFs ⚡
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between FedData and pharmaversesdtm?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. FedData and pharmaversesdtm 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 FedData better than pharmaversesdtm?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. FedData and pharmaversesdtm 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 FedData?
Top FedData alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "FedData alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/feddata for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to pharmaversesdtm?
Top pharmaversesdtm alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "pharmaversesdtm alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/pharmaversesdtm for the full list with editorial commentary on each.