cIRT
A choice-based IRT model published once in 2019 and kept compiling ever since
Comparison · Analytics
fmtr vs TrialEmulation
A side-by-side editorial comparison of fmtr and TrialEmulation — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-package
fmtr vs TrialEmulation: at a glance
What is fmtr?
Rebuilding SAS's formatting layer in R, one format specification at a time
fmtr applies formats to R data the way SAS applies them: named format catalogues, format lists, and an fapply() that maps a specification onto a vector. It is part of a family of packages that reconstruct SAS reporting idioms in R, and it shares infrastructure with them — labels.data.frame() was moved out to the common package, which fmtr now depends on. The recent releases have been closing specific gaps against SAS's own format vocabulary.
What is TrialEmulation?
Target trial emulation held steady by dependency maintenance, not new methods.
TrialEmulation implements target trial emulation from observational data, using duckdb to handle the expanded per-period datasets that approach generates. Every release in the visible window is upkeep: two consecutive releases removing the archived parglm dependency, two fixing tests against testthat updates, and two tracking duckdb sampling changes. No methodological work appears in the feed since before February 2025.
fmtr vs TrialEmulation: editorial side-by-side
fmtr
0.0ANALYTICS
Rebuilding SAS's formatting layer in R, one format specification at a time
◆ Current state
fmtr applies formats to R data the way SAS applies them: named format catalogues, format lists, and an fapply() that maps a specification onto a vector. It is part of a family of packages that reconstruct SAS reporting idioms in R, and it shares infrastructure with them — labels.data.frame() was moved out to the common package, which fmtr now depends on. The recent releases have been closing specific gaps against SAS's own format vocabulary.
◆ Where it's heading
The direction is parity, pursued in small increments. Quarter format codes were added because base R has none; the SAS best. format was reimplemented, then hardened against the variations people actually write; statistical summary helpers like fmt_mean_sd() and fmt_mean_stderr() cover the cell contents clinical tables need. The structural work is largely behind it, including the breaking 2022 move that handed labelling to a sibling package, so what remains is vocabulary coverage.
◆ Prediction
The pattern of adding a SAS format, then a release to handle its variants, suggests the next releases continue filling in format codes and summary helpers rather than changing how formats are applied.
TrialEmulation
0.0ANALYTICS
Target trial emulation held steady by dependency maintenance, not new methods.
◆ Current state
TrialEmulation implements target trial emulation from observational data, using duckdb to handle the expanded per-period datasets that approach generates. Every release in the visible window is upkeep: two consecutive releases removing the archived parglm dependency, two fixing tests against testthat updates, and two tracking duckdb sampling changes. No methodological work appears in the feed since before February 2025.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is being kept installable rather than extended. Its dependency surface, duckdb for storage, parglm for fitting, testthat for checks, generates most of the release traffic, and CRAN archiving parglm forced two separate releases three months apart to fully excise it. The version numbering, still in the 0.0.4.x range after years, suggests the maintainers do not consider the API settled enough to promote.
◆ Prediction
Further releases will most likely be triggered by upstream dependency changes; the entries give no signal on when methodological work resumes.
Alternatives to fmtr and TrialEmulation
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 fmtr or TrialEmulation.
MetaboAnalystR
The R engine behind MetaboAnalyst closes the gap from raw spectra to biological interpretation
betaselectr
Standardised coefficients for models where standardising everything is wrong — but the feed only links out
SSN2
Stream-network spatial models learning to run on data that no longer fits in memory
BiocManager
Bioconductor's installer, frozen at 1.30.x and tuned almost entirely through environment variables
dcurves
Decision curve analysis, settled since 2022 and now moving only when its neighbours do
See all fmtr alternatives → · See all TrialEmulation alternatives →
Recent activity from fmtr and TrialEmulation
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 4mo agoTrialEmulationDocumentation references to the archived parglm removed
- 7mo agoTrialEmulationparglm dependency dropped after CRAN archiving
- 9mo agoTrialEmulationTest fixes for updated testthat, plus link updates
- 9mo agoTrialEmulationCompatibility fixes ahead of testthat 3.3.0
- 10mo agofmtrMean and standard error helper, plus best-format variants
- 11mo agofmtrSAS best. format reimplemented in fapply()
- 1y agoTrialEmulationTests updated for duckdb 1.3.0 sampling; R 4.1 now required
- 1y agoTrialEmulationTests updated for duckdb 1.2.0 sampling changes
- 2y agofmtrQuarter format codes %q and %Q added
- 2y agofmtrFormat lists become readable and writable files
- 2y agofmtrDocumentation and examples expanded
- 2y agofmtrvalue() can return results as a factor
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between fmtr and TrialEmulation?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. fmtr and TrialEmulation 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 fmtr better than TrialEmulation?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. fmtr and TrialEmulation 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 fmtr?
Top fmtr alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "fmtr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/fmtr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to TrialEmulation?
Top TrialEmulation alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "TrialEmulation alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/trialemulation for the full list with editorial commentary on each.