cIRT
A choice-based IRT model published once in 2019 and kept compiling ever since
Comparison · Analytics
fmtr vs tulpaRatio
A side-by-side editorial comparison of fmtr and tulpaRatio — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-package
fmtr vs tulpaRatio: 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 tulpaRatio?
A Bayesian ratio-modelling package that threw out its Stan dependency and wrote its own sampler
ratiod models ratios, rates and proportions hierarchically, with the stated position that a ratio is a derived quantity and inference should run on the latent numerator and denominator processes rather than their quotient. The 1.0.0 release shipped a native HMC/NUTS backend, removing the Stan dependency that packages in this space normally take as given. Everything since has been sampler optimisation, benchmarked against the Stan implementations it replaced.
fmtr vs tulpaRatio: 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.
tulpaRatio
0.0ANALYTICS
A Bayesian ratio-modelling package that threw out its Stan dependency and wrote its own sampler
◆ Current state
ratiod models ratios, rates and proportions hierarchically, with the stated position that a ratio is a derived quantity and inference should run on the latent numerator and denominator processes rather than their quotient. The 1.0.0 release shipped a native HMC/NUTS backend, removing the Stan dependency that packages in this space normally take as given. Everything since has been sampler optimisation, benchmarked against the Stan implementations it replaced.
◆ Where it's heading
The feed reads as one architectural bet followed by the work to justify it. After the native backend landed, the releases are a steady march of gradient and adaptation work — hand-coded gradients for more model families, L-BFGS mass matrix adaptation, an O2 build — each measured as a speed multiple against Stan. Coverage is tracked openly as a fraction (48 of 60 hand-coded configs), and unresolved problems are named rather than buried, including a deferred GP spatial bug.
◆ Prediction
The hand-coded gradient coverage count is the visible backlog, so the next releases most likely close the remaining configs and resolve the GP spatial issue that the benchmark release explicitly deferred.
Alternatives to fmtr and tulpaRatio
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 tulpaRatio.
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 tulpaRatio alternatives →
Recent activity from fmtr and tulpaRatio
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 6mo agotulpaRatioHand-coded gradients reach binomial zero-inflated and hurdle models
- 6mo agotulpaRatioGaussian process sampling reaches roughly 4x Stan
- 7mo agotulpaRatioL-BFGS mass matrix adaptation for MSGP models
- 7mo agotulpaRatioBenchmarks published for 35 of 40 model configurations
- 7mo agotulpaRatioFirst stable release ships a native HMC/NUTS backend, no Stan required ⚡
- 10mo agofmtrMean and standard error helper, plus best-format variants
- 11mo agofmtrSAS best. format reimplemented in fapply()
- 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 tulpaRatio?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. fmtr and tulpaRatio 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 tulpaRatio?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. fmtr and tulpaRatio 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 tulpaRatio?
Top tulpaRatio alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "tulpaRatio alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/tulparatio for the full list with editorial commentary on each.