gps2gtfs
gps2gtfs spent a release making its docs stop describing functions it does not have.
Comparison · Analytics
forrel vs pedmut
A side-by-side editorial comparison of forrel and pedmut — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:forensic genetics
forrel vs pedmut: at a glance
What is forrel?
forrel is getting faster at the simulations forensic kinship work actually spends its time on.
forrel handles forensic pedigree analysis: kinship likelihood ratios, profile simulation, relationship checking, and missing person calculations. Version 1.9.0 synced with pedtools 2.11.0's loop handling, which the release notes credit with enabling complex pedigrees that were previously intractable, and moved profileSim() to mirai for parallelism. It also added fEstimate() for inbreeding coefficients and parentChildLikelihood() as a fast path for the simplest case.
What is pedmut?
pedmut turns awkward mutation models into ones the likelihood engine can actually handle.
pedmut builds and transforms the mutation models used in pedigree likelihood calculations. Its recent arc is a toolkit of model transformations: makeReversible() with three methods, makeStationary() replacing the older stabilize(), adjustRate() for tuning overall mutation rate, and lumpMutSpecial() for lumping models that strong lumpability cannot handle. The most recent release is narrow, adding a programmatic output format to getParams().
forrel vs pedmut: editorial side-by-side
forrel
0.0ANALYTICS
forrel is getting faster at the simulations forensic kinship work actually spends its time on.
◆ Current state
forrel handles forensic pedigree analysis: kinship likelihood ratios, profile simulation, relationship checking, and missing person calculations. Version 1.9.0 synced with pedtools 2.11.0's loop handling, which the release notes credit with enabling complex pedigrees that were previously intractable, and moved profileSim() to mirai for parallelism. It also added fEstimate() for inbreeding coefficients and parentChildLikelihood() as a fast path for the simplest case.
◆ Where it's heading
Two long threads run through the window. One is making the common operations cheap: faster simulations through reorganized likelihood calculations, a dedicated parent-child path, dropped map attribute preservation, log-likelihoods to avoid underflow in kinshipLR(). The other is making relationship checking presentable, with checkPairwise() growing ggplot2 and plotly output, verbal relationship descriptions, and bootstrap p-values. Reference data is maintained alongside both, with the FORCE SNP panel completed and an X-chromosomal counterpart added.
◆ Prediction
With profileSim() on mirai and the loop handling synced, the next likely step is extending mirai parallelism to the other simulation-heavy functions such as exclusionPower() and the bootstrap in checkPairwise().
pedmut
0.0ANALYTICS
pedmut turns awkward mutation models into ones the likelihood engine can actually handle.
◆ Current state
pedmut builds and transforms the mutation models used in pedigree likelihood calculations. Its recent arc is a toolkit of model transformations: makeReversible() with three methods, makeStationary() replacing the older stabilize(), adjustRate() for tuning overall mutation rate, and lumpMutSpecial() for lumping models that strong lumpability cannot handle. The most recent release is narrow, adding a programmatic output format to getParams().
◆ Where it's heading
The consistent goal is making models satisfy the mathematical properties downstream algorithms require. Reversibility, stationarity, and lumpability each unlock something in pedprobr, and the package keeps adding ways to coerce an arbitrary model into having them. lumpMutSpecial() is explicitly incomplete, described as covering only some cases with more possibly to follow, which sets up the main open thread.
◆ Prediction
Expect additional special lumping cases to be implemented, since the package documents the current coverage as partial and pedprobr's likelihood performance depends directly on it.
Alternatives to forrel and pedmut
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 forrel or pedmut.
ducksemantics
ducksemantics puts an ontology graph and ColBERT retrieval inside DuckDB, callable from R.
dvir
dvir keeps making disaster victim identification a single call instead of a workflow.
pedbuildr
pedbuildr reconstructs pedigrees from DNA, and it just got much faster at the search.
pedFamilias
pedFamilias exists to read one legacy file format, and it has that job nearly finished.
pedprobr
pedprobr is the likelihood engine, and it keeps finding ways to compute what it previously could not.
See all forrel alternatives → · See all pedmut alternatives →
Recent activity from forrel and pedmut
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agoforrelmirai parallelism and faster profile simulation
- 2mo agopedmutgetParams() gains a programmatic output format
- 1y agoforrelFORCE SNP panel completed and X-chromosomal set added
- 1y agoforrelrankProfiles() and access to special lumping
- 1y agopedmutSpecial lumping arrives for un-lumpable models
- 1y agopedmutReversibility transformations and rate adjustment
- 1y agoforrelacrossComps argument and readFam() unexported
- 1y agoforrelcheckPairwise() overhauled with p-values and new plot backends
- 2y agoforrelFamilias interoperability split into pedFamilias
- 2y agopedmutMutation rate and boundedness diagnostics
- 3y agopedmutPM stabilisation and multi-lump strong lumpability
- 3y agopedmutlumpedModel() wrapper and lumping speedups
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between forrel and pedmut?
Both compete on the same themes — forensic genetics — within Analytics. forrel and pedmut 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 forrel better than pedmut?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. forrel and pedmut 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 forrel?
Top forrel alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "forrel alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/forrel for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to pedmut?
Top pedmut alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "pedmut alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/pedmut for the full list with editorial commentary on each.