r2rtf
The clinical-report table engine learned Chinese, then learned to leave RTF entirely
Comparison · Analytics
forestly vs mlr3spatial
A side-by-side editorial comparison of forestly and mlr3spatial — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
forestly vs mlr3spatial: at a glance
What is forestly?
forestly built an interactive safety review tool, then taught it to produce submission-ready RTF.
forestly renders adverse-event forest plots as interactive reactable widgets — filterable by AE category, with sliders for incidence thresholds and a toggle for the risk-difference column. Version 0.1.3 added `rtf_static_forestly()` for static RTF output, and 0.1.4 has been about giving the display owner control over what reviewers see: the CSV download button, the AE filter label, and the diff toggle can each be switched off.
What is mlr3spatial?
Raster prediction in mlr3 finally returns class probabilities, not just hard labels.
mlr3spatial connects mlr3 learners to raster and vector spatial data, handling chunked prediction over large rasters through DataBackendRaster. Development is slow and fix-heavy: most releases in the last two years were compatibility work against mlr3 and paradox rather than new capability. 0.7.0 is the exception.
forestly vs mlr3spatial: editorial side-by-side
forestly
0.0ANALYTICS
forestly built an interactive safety review tool, then taught it to produce submission-ready RTF.
◆ Current state
forestly renders adverse-event forest plots as interactive reactable widgets — filterable by AE category, with sliders for incidence thresholds and a toggle for the risk-difference column. Version 0.1.3 added `rtf_static_forestly()` for static RTF output, and 0.1.4 has been about giving the display owner control over what reviewers see: the CSV download button, the AE filter label, and the diff toggle can each be switched off.
◆ Where it's heading
The arc runs from a fixed interactive widget toward a configurable one with two output modes. Nearly every new argument in the last two releases exists to remove something from the display or relabel it, which suggests the users driving development are producing outputs for others to review under conventions they do not control. The x-axis range, column header, figure header and slider range arguments point the same way — this is a tool being fitted into standardised reporting rather than used ad hoc.
◆ Prediction
Given that the last two releases have consisted almost entirely of display-control arguments, the next is likely more of the same, applied to whichever parts of the interactive layout are still fixed.
mlr3spatial
0.0ANALYTICS
Raster prediction in mlr3 finally returns class probabilities, not just hard labels.
◆ Current state
mlr3spatial connects mlr3 learners to raster and vector spatial data, handling chunked prediction over large rasters through DataBackendRaster. Development is slow and fix-heavy: most releases in the last two years were compatibility work against mlr3 and paradox rather than new capability. 0.7.0 is the exception.
◆ Where it's heading
The package tracks the mlr3 core rather than leading it — 0.5.0 and 0.6.1 exist to absorb upstream changes in paradox and mlr3. Against that background, 0.7.0 adding probability predictions to predict_spatial() is the first genuine capability increase in a while, arriving alongside two DataBackendRaster fixes for multi-band sources and similarly-named layers. Cadence is roughly one release per year.
◆ Prediction
Given the pattern, the next release is more likely to be compatibility work against a new mlr3 or terra version than another feature; further raster-backend edge cases around layer naming are the visible loose end.
Alternatives to forestly and mlr3spatial
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 forestly or mlr3spatial.
DoseFinding
New stewardship at openpharma, then two releases adding the methods MCP-Mod was missing
webmockr
The stubbing library added httr2 support, then spent a year cutting itself free of everything else
crul
crul took mocking back from webmockr and made it a property of the client itself
dendroNetwork
Six releases, six identical bodies — the feed carries the package abstract instead of release notes
chattr
chattr deleted every LLM integration it had written and outsourced the lot to ellmer
See all forestly alternatives → · See all mlr3spatial alternatives →
Recent activity from forestly and mlr3spatial
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agomlr3spatialpredict_spatial() gains probability predictions
- 5mo agoforestlyDownload button, AE filter label and diff toggle become optional
- 10mo agomlr3spatialCompatibility with mlr3 1.2.0
- 11mo agoforestlyStatic RTF forest plots join the interactive output ⚡
- 1y agomlr3spatialError on conflicting X/Y columns in sf objects
- 1y agoforestlyreactR 0.6.0 rendering fix and slider label control
- 2y agoforestlyTreatment group selection and rough-edge fixes
- 2y agomlr3spatialCompatibility with paradox 1.0.0
- 3y agoforestlyFirst release on GitHub and CRAN
- 3y agomlr3spatialUse terra::inMemory() instead of the @ptr slot
- 3y agomlr3spatialspatial_predict() accepts stars, sf and Raster* inputs
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between forestly and mlr3spatial?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. forestly and mlr3spatial 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 forestly better than mlr3spatial?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. forestly and mlr3spatial 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 forestly?
Top forestly alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "forestly alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/forestly for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to mlr3spatial?
Top mlr3spatial alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "mlr3spatial alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/mlr3spatial for the full list with editorial commentary on each.