metatools
SDTM supplemental-qualifier merging got sturdier, then the package went quiet for two years.
Comparison · Analytics
ggsurvfit vs random.cdisc.data
A side-by-side editorial comparison of ggsurvfit and random.cdisc.data — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:cdisc
ggsurvfit vs random.cdisc.data: at a glance
What is ggsurvfit?
ggsurvfit is in correctness-and-compatibility mode, not feature mode.
The package draws survival and cumulative-incidence curves on a ggplot2 grammar, with risk tables, p-values and quantile annotations. Recent releases are entirely fixes and upstream tracking: ggplot2 v4.0.0 compatibility in 2025, and a 2026 patch correcting a Gray-test p-value that could be reported for the wrong competing event.
What is random.cdisc.data?
Synthetic CDISC data generation that has been quiet since early 2024.
random.cdisc.data generates synthetic CDISC-format clinical trial datasets, used across the insightsengineering and teal packages as test and demo data. The last substantive release, 0.3.15 in March 2024, made cached-data rebuilds incremental and corrected an ETHNIC factor level. Everything older in this feed is release automation.
ggsurvfit vs random.cdisc.data: editorial side-by-side
ggsurvfit
2.5ANALYTICS
ggsurvfit is in correctness-and-compatibility mode, not feature mode.
◆ Current state
The package draws survival and cumulative-incidence curves on a ggplot2 grammar, with risk tables, p-values and quantile annotations. Recent releases are entirely fixes and upstream tracking: ggplot2 v4.0.0 compatibility in 2025, and a 2026 patch correcting a Gray-test p-value that could be reported for the wrong competing event.
◆ Where it's heading
The feature surface settled around 1.0.0, when risk-table alignment was exported and colour and linetype defaults became configurable. Since then the work is keeping pace with survival, ggplot2 and tidycmprsk changes, and closing cases where the plotted curve and the annotation disagreed — the p-value matched by position rather than name, confidence limits swapped for multi-state models, quantiles read off a plateau.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next release to track upstream survival or ggplot2 changes rather than add plotting features; the CDISC censoring convention adopted in Surv_CNSR() suggests further alignment with clinical data standards is the likelier direction.
random.cdisc.data
0.0ANALYTICS
Synthetic CDISC data generation that has been quiet since early 2024.
◆ Current state
random.cdisc.data generates synthetic CDISC-format clinical trial datasets, used across the insightsengineering and teal packages as test and demo data. The last substantive release, 0.3.15 in March 2024, made cached-data rebuilds incremental and corrected an ETHNIC factor level. Everything older in this feed is release automation.
◆ Where it's heading
Activity has thinned to one real release in the visible window, surrounded by version bumps and workflow propagation. The 0.3.15 work is maintenance-shaped — dependency floors, a data typo, faster vignette rebuilds — which is what a fixture package looks like once downstream packages depend on its output staying unchanged.
◆ Prediction
Further releases are likely to stay corrective, since the package's value to teal and tern depends on its generated datasets remaining stable rather than growing.
Alternatives to ggsurvfit and random.cdisc.data
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 ggsurvfit or random.cdisc.data.
marquee
marquee is filling in the typographic details — outlines, border types, real font metrics for underlines.
logrx
A clinical-script logger that stopped shipping after its 0.2 line, changelogs made of merged PRs.
lobstr
R's object inspector is losing its view of the internals as CRAN closes off the private C API.
GSODR
A weather-station data client that broke one return type to hand back distances instead of bare IDs.
giscoR
giscoR's 1.0 moved its dataset index into the cache, so new Eurostat releases arrive without a package update.
See all ggsurvfit alternatives → · See all random.cdisc.data alternatives →
Recent activity from ggsurvfit and random.cdisc.data
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 20d agoggsurvfitGray-test p-values matched to the plotted outcome by name
- 10mo agoggsurvfitggplot2 v4.0.0 compatibility and multi-state CI label fix
- 2y agoggsurvfitNegative follow-up times and a cloglog transformation
- 2y agorandom.cdisc.dataIncremental cached-data rebuilds and an ETHNIC level fix
- 2y agoggsurvfitAesthetic defaults become switchable and alignment is exported
- 2y agoggsurvfitConfidence limits corrected for monotonicity-reversing transforms
- 3y agoggsurvfitGlue syntax in risk tables and coxph model support
- 3y agorandom.cdisc.data2022_10_13
- 3y agorandom.cdisc.data2022_08_16
- 4y agorandom.cdisc.data2022_04_07
- 4y agorandom.cdisc.dataTESTING_DEPTH sets added to the generated data
- 4y agorandom.cdisc.dataTESTING_DEPTH sets added (duplicate pre-release tag)
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between ggsurvfit and random.cdisc.data?
Both compete on the same themes — cdisc — within Analytics. ggsurvfit is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is ggsurvfit better than random.cdisc.data?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. ggsurvfit is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to ggsurvfit?
Top ggsurvfit alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "ggsurvfit alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/ggsurvfit for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to random.cdisc.data?
Top random.cdisc.data alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "random.cdisc.data alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/random-cdisc-data for the full list with editorial commentary on each.