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Comparison · Infra & APIs

forestploter vs logbin

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

forestploter vs logbin: at a glance

Featureforestploterlogbin
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesdata-visualization, clinical-trials, forest-plots, meta-analysisrelative-risk, log-binomial, glm-compatibility, em-algorithm
Last editorial update6h ago57m ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is forestploter?

A forest plot package that keeps handing users control of one more graphical detail.

forestploter draws forest plots where the layout is driven by the data frame itself, so text columns and confidence intervals sit in the same grid. The theme function has become the package's centre of gravity: it now controls graphical parameters for titles, legends, axis, arrow labels, footnotes, and reference lines, with multi-column and row-order legend controls added most recently. Two releases shipped nine minutes apart in April 2026 after a two-year gap, deprecating some theme parameters, removing inter-cell gaps, and improving tick breaks.

Read the full forestploter trajectory →

What is logbin?

Relative-risk regression that converges where glm fails, under an unreadable tag order

logbin fits log-binomial models to estimate relative risk, a fit standard glm frequently fails to converge on because of the constrained parameter space. Its answer is a choice of algorithms — adaptive barrier, combinatorial EM, and expectation-maximisation on an overparameterised model — selected through a method argument and optionally accelerated with turboEM. The most recent release, in April 2025, replaces the variance-covariance calculation in summary.logbin so it matches summary.glm, and adds a testthat suite.

Read the full logbin trajectory →

forestploter vs logbin: editorial side-by-side

F
forestploter
INFRA · APIS
0.0

A forest plot package that keeps handing users control of one more graphical detail.

◆ Current state

forestploter draws forest plots where the layout is driven by the data frame itself, so text columns and confidence intervals sit in the same grid. The theme function has become the package's centre of gravity: it now controls graphical parameters for titles, legends, axis, arrow labels, footnotes, and reference lines, with multi-column and row-order legend controls added most recently. Two releases shipped nine minutes apart in April 2026 after a two-year gap, deprecating some theme parameters, removing inter-cell gaps, and improving tick breaks.

◆ Where it's heading

The direction has been consistent for four years: whatever a user might want to restyle eventually becomes an argument. Point size stopped being transformed, cell height adjustment was removed as unwanted, legends gained size, column, and fill-order control, and vertical lines learned to extend the full plot height and to draw beneath the whiskers. The one structural move was 1.1.0, which let callers supply their own confidence-interval and summary drawing functions — turning a fixed renderer into an extensible one. Everything since has been the arguments that extensibility did not cover.

◆ Prediction

The latest release deprecates theme parameters rather than adding them, which suggests the next one consolidates the theme surface that has grown for four years rather than extending it further.

L
logbin
INFRA · APIS
0.0

Relative-risk regression that converges where glm fails, under an unreadable tag order

◆ Current state

logbin fits log-binomial models to estimate relative risk, a fit standard glm frequently fails to converge on because of the constrained parameter space. Its answer is a choice of algorithms — adaptive barrier, combinatorial EM, and expectation-maximisation on an overparameterised model — selected through a method argument and optionally accelerated with turboEM. The most recent release, in April 2025, replaces the variance-covariance calculation in summary.logbin so it matches summary.glm, and adds a testthat suite.

◆ Where it's heading

The method work concluded in 2021 and the package has since been aligned with base R conventions rather than extended: the vcov calculation now mirrors glm's, and earlier releases added the contrasts, qr, R and effects components so standard glm S3 methods such as influence() and plot() work on logbin objects. Be warned that the feed's tag order is unusable — versions 2.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.2 and 2.0.4 were all pushed within ninety seconds on 23 July 2021 in non-monotonic order, while 2.0.3 carries a 2017 timestamp and restates 2.0.2's notes. Read the bodies, not the sequence.

◆ Prediction

Expect continued alignment with glm conventions and occasional CRAN maintenance; the algorithm set has been stable for four years and nothing in these entries suggests another is planned.

Alternatives to forestploter and logbin

Other Infra & APIs 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 forestploter or logbin.

See all forestploter alternatives → · See all logbin alternatives →

Recent activity from forestploter and logbin

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

  1. 3mo agoforestploterTheme parameters deprecated; cell gaps removed, ticks improved
  2. 3mo agoforestploterMulti-column legends and full-height vertical lines
  3. 1y agologbinvcov in summary.logbin now matches summary.glm
  4. 2y agoforestploterFull graphical control over titles, legends, axis and footnotes
  5. 2y agoforestploterTick digit calculation improved; automatic cell height removed
  6. 3y agoforestploterCustom CI and summary drawing functions; boxplots inside the plot
  7. 3y agoforestploterArbitrary grobs and math symbols can be placed in cells
  8. 5y agologbinFactor reparameterisation fix and faster parameter expansion
  9. 5y agologbinVersion bump to satisfy a CRAN check
  10. 5y agologbinmethod and accelerate options: adaptive barrier, CEM, EM, turboEM
  11. 5y agologbinglm S3 method support via contrasts, qr, R and effects components
  12. 5y agologbinJournal of Statistical Software citation added

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between forestploter and logbin?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. forestploter and logbin 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 forestploter better than logbin?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. forestploter and logbin 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 Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to forestploter?

Top forestploter alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "forestploter alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/forestploter for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to logbin?

Top logbin alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "logbin alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/logbin for the full list with editorial commentary on each.