rstudiothemes
rstudiothemes went from RStudio-only to converting themes across RStudio, VS Code and Positron in four months
Comparison · Analytics
glystats vs ribd
A side-by-side editorial comparison of glystats and ribd — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
glystats vs ribd: at a glance
What is glystats?
glystats keeps deleting analyses it decided belong somewhere else.
glystats provides the statistical tests behind glycoverse: differential analysis, clustering, dimensionality reduction, and until recently enrichment. The last four releases are mostly subtraction. WGCNA and consensus clustering were removed in 0.10.0 as too interactive for a pipeline package, the enrichment functions were deprecated in the same release and deleted in 0.11.0 in favor of glyfun, and 0.11.0 also removed every gly_*_() matrix and vector interface. What remains accepts SummarizedExperiment inputs.
What is ribd?
The pedsuite's coefficient engine: broadening what it computes, then making the plots publishable.
ribd computes relatedness coefficients from pedigrees, covering kinship, inbreeding, kappa, condensed and detailed identity coefficients, and two-locus versions of several of these, in autosomal and X-chromosomal form. The IBD triangle is now drawable in base graphics, ggplot2 or plotly, with an optional inset pedigree, and custom relationships can be placed on it. The most recent release is dominated by correctness work, fixing pair ordering and row alignment in coefficient tables and edge cases for pedigree lists, unrelated individuals and self-pairs.
glystats vs ribd: editorial side-by-side
glystats
0.0ANALYTICS
glystats keeps deleting analyses it decided belong somewhere else.
◆ Current state
glystats provides the statistical tests behind glycoverse: differential analysis, clustering, dimensionality reduction, and until recently enrichment. The last four releases are mostly subtraction. WGCNA and consensus clustering were removed in 0.10.0 as too interactive for a pipeline package, the enrichment functions were deprecated in the same release and deleted in 0.11.0 in favor of glyfun, and 0.11.0 also removed every gly_*_() matrix and vector interface. What remains accepts SummarizedExperiment inputs.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is narrowing on purpose. The through-line across removals is a refusal to support two calling conventions or two homes for the same analysis: containers only, no bare matrices; one enrichment implementation, in glyfun. The additive work in the window went to statistical rigor rather than surface area, with effect sizes added to the four main tests, sign bugs fixed, and the log2 pseudo-count reduced.
◆ Prediction
With the interface pruning finished, the next releases are more likely to deepen the tests that remain than to add new analysis families.
ribd
2.5ANALYTICS
The pedsuite's coefficient engine: broadening what it computes, then making the plots publishable.
◆ Current state
ribd computes relatedness coefficients from pedigrees, covering kinship, inbreeding, kappa, condensed and detailed identity coefficients, and two-locus versions of several of these, in autosomal and X-chromosomal form. The IBD triangle is now drawable in base graphics, ggplot2 or plotly, with an optional inset pedigree, and custom relationships can be placed on it. The most recent release is dominated by correctness work, fixing pair ordering and row alignment in coefficient tables and edge cases for pedigree lists, unrelated individuals and self-pairs.
◆ Where it's heading
The arc runs from generality to presentation to precision. Early releases replaced narrow functions with general ones, most visibly when gKinship() absorbed generalisedKinship() and identityCoefs() superseded the separate autosomal and X-chromosomal identity functions in favour of an Xchrom argument. The middle stretch turned the IBD triangle into a proper plotting surface across three graphics systems. The current phase reads as consolidation, with the newest release listing six bug fixes against four features, several of them alignment errors in output tables, which is where a coefficient library most needs to be exactly right.
◆ Prediction
The two new internal functions in the latest release, inbreedingContributions() and ancestralKinship(), are the kind of thing that surfaces publicly a release or two later, so expect them to become exported decomposition tools. The correctness push through pedigree lists and edge cases suggests the near-term focus stays on hardening rather than new coefficient families.
Alternatives to glystats and ribd
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 glystats or ribd.
rasterpic
rasterpic became an S3 generic and picked up stars support; the rest is upkeep
igoR
igoR reached 1.0.0 with no user-visible change, then spent three releases on AI-assisted cleanup
parglm
Under a new maintainer, parglm traded raw speed work for glm parity and memory safety
epinowcast
epinowcast added Gaussian processes to its formula interface and made the sampler twice as fast
duckspatial
duckspatial rebuilt itself around a lazy DuckDB class, then spent four releases filling in the geometry surface
See all glystats alternatives → · See all ribd alternatives →
Recent activity from glystats and ribd
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 12d agoribdCustom relationships on the IBD triangle; six alignment and edge-case fixes
- 1mo agoglystatsDocs recommend the new SE containers
- 1mo agoglystatsTests recognize both container types consistently
- 1mo agoglystatsMatrix interfaces and enrichment functions removed
- 2mo agoglystatsSmaller log2 pseudo-count across DEA and clustering
- 3mo agoglystatsWGCNA and clustering dropped, enrichment deprecated
- 4mo agoglystatsEffect sizes added and test statistic signs fixed
- 1y agoribdkappaIBD() can skip across-component pairs on large pedigrees
- 2y agoribdIBD triangle plots gain ggplot2 and plotly backends, plus inset pedigrees
- 3y agoribdTriangle line clipping, automatic plot margins, citation info
- 3y agoribdTwo-locus functions overhauled; twoLocusInbreeding and ELR added
- 4y agoribdIdentity coefficients unified behind identityCoefs() and an Xchrom argument
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between glystats and ribd?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. ribd 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 glystats better than ribd?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. ribd 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 glystats?
Top glystats alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "glystats alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/glystats for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to ribd?
Top ribd alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "ribd alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/ribd for the full list with editorial commentary on each.