tidytlg
A tables-listings-graphs package that reached CRAN and then went quiet.
Comparison · Analytics
gigs vs ijtiff
A side-by-side editorial comparison of gigs and ijtiff — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-package
gigs vs ijtiff: at a glance
What is gigs?
gigs redesigned its whole conversion API for rOpenSci, then spent three releases getting the docs to build.
gigs implements international newborn and infant growth standards — INTERGROWTH-21st, WHO — converting anthropometric measurements to z-scores and centiles and classifying growth outcomes. The 0.5.0 release rewrote the public API around rOpenSci review feedback; the two releases after it change no code at all, existing purely to get the documentation site building.
What is ijtiff?
A TIFF reader for scientific imaging that spent its recent releases shedding weight and fixing memory bugs.
ijtiff reads and writes TIFF files the way ImageJ writes them, which ordinary R TIFF readers get wrong — multi-channel, multi-frame, and unusual bit depths. The 3.1.x line is dominated by memory correctness in the C tag-handling layer, alongside dropping the large imager dependency from the display path. Cadence is sporadic, with multi-year gaps.
gigs vs ijtiff: editorial side-by-side
gigs
0.0ANALYTICS
gigs redesigned its whole conversion API for rOpenSci, then spent three releases getting the docs to build.
◆ Current state
gigs implements international newborn and infant growth standards — INTERGROWTH-21st, WHO — converting anthropometric measurements to z-scores and centiles and classifying growth outcomes. The 0.5.0 release rewrote the public API around rOpenSci review feedback; the two releases after it change no code at all, existing purely to get the documentation site building.
◆ Where it's heading
The package has moved from vector-in, vector-out conversion helpers to a data.frame-oriented interface with a single classify_growth() entry point that computes whatever outcomes the supplied columns allow. That is a shift from library to tool — the user describes their data rather than picking the right function. The trailing releases suggest the code is settled and the remaining work is packaging and discoverability.
◆ Prediction
With the API rewrite absorbed and hosting moved to rOpenSci, the next substantive release should add growth standards or outcomes rather than reshape the interface again.
ijtiff
0.0ANALYTICS
A TIFF reader for scientific imaging that spent its recent releases shedding weight and fixing memory bugs.
◆ Current state
ijtiff reads and writes TIFF files the way ImageJ writes them, which ordinary R TIFF readers get wrong — multi-channel, multi-frame, and unusual bit depths. The 3.1.x line is dominated by memory correctness in the C tag-handling layer, alongside dropping the large imager dependency from the display path. Cadence is sporadic, with multi-year gaps.
◆ Where it's heading
Two threads run through the window. The C layer is being hardened — memory leaks in tag handling, buffer cleanup, PROTECT errors, validation of malformed files — which is the kind of work that surfaces when a package gets run against real-world files at volume. Separately, the R layer is shedding dependencies, with base graphics replacing imager for display. Both make the package cheaper and safer to depend on rather than more capable.
◆ Prediction
Expect continued C-level correctness work rather than format features, since three of the last three substantive releases were memory or compiler fixes.
Alternatives to gigs and ijtiff
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 gigs or ijtiff.
Tplyr
Tplyr made clinical summary tables explain where every number came from.
rlistings
Clinical listings that keep inheriting their hardest problem — pagination — from the layer below.
hoardr
A cache-directory helper that has shipped nothing but CRAN-triggered patches for seven years.
riem
A weather-data client that keeps rewriting its HTTP layer while slowly tightening its API.
datasetjson
datasetjson rebuilt its object model to track the CDISC Dataset-JSON 1.1 schema.
Recent activity from gigs and ijtiff
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1y agoijtiffPROTECT-error and documentation fixes across 3.1.1-3.1.3
- 1y agoijtiffDrops the imager dependency; fixes tag-handling memory leaks
- 1y agogigsDocs and Zenodo archiving
- 1y agogigsDocs-only release; nothing changed internally
- 1y agogigsConversion API rewritten around data frames and classify_growth() ⚡
- 2y agogigsDocumentation fixes for autotest compliance
- 2y agogigsINTERGROWTH-21st fetal standards and input validation
- 2y agogigsPatch release with documentation update
- 3y agoijtiffMoves to rlang::abort() and away from magrittr
- 3y agoijtiffFixes NEWS.md headings
- 5y agoijtiffCompatibility with libtiff using C99 stdint.h
- 5y agoijtiffQuiets pkg-config warnings; drops LazyData
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between gigs and ijtiff?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. gigs and ijtiff 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 gigs better than ijtiff?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. gigs and ijtiff 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 gigs?
Top gigs alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "gigs alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/gigs for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to ijtiff?
Top ijtiff alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "ijtiff alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/ijtiff for the full list with editorial commentary on each.