gps2gtfs
gps2gtfs spent a release making its docs stop describing functions it does not have.
Comparison · Analytics
glyvis vs KLINK
A side-by-side editorial comparison of glyvis and KLINK — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
glyvis vs KLINK: at a glance
What is glyvis?
glyvis keeps losing plot functions as the packages behind them get reorganized.
glyvis is the plotting layer for glycoverse results. Its recent releases are dominated by two forces it does not control: glyexp's container migration, which it absorbed in 0.7.0 by accepting SummarizedExperiment inputs, and glystats' function removals, which cost it first the WGCNA and consensus-clustering autoplot methods and then the entire enrichment plotting surface. Its own additions in the window are narrow, mostly label handling and NA robustness.
What is KLINK?
Forensic kinship testing with linked STR markers, now peer-reviewed and taking data from anywhere.
KLINK is a Shiny application and R package for kinship testing that accounts for linkage between STR markers, rather than treating all markers as independent. The built-in genetic map covers 50 common STR markers, pairs them dynamically after data loads, and lets the user set the maximum distance at which a pair counts as linked. Custom marker maps can now arrive as Excel files including KLINK's own download files, and a paper describing the tool was published in FSI:Genetics in 2026.
glyvis vs KLINK: editorial side-by-side
glyvis
0.0ANALYTICS
glyvis keeps losing plot functions as the packages behind them get reorganized.
◆ Current state
glyvis is the plotting layer for glycoverse results. Its recent releases are dominated by two forces it does not control: glyexp's container migration, which it absorbed in 0.7.0 by accepting SummarizedExperiment inputs, and glystats' function removals, which cost it first the WGCNA and consensus-clustering autoplot methods and then the entire enrichment plotting surface. Its own additions in the window are narrow, mostly label handling and NA robustness.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is being pruned from upstream rather than expanded from within. Every breaking change in the last four releases is a removal triggered by a sibling package dropping the function that produced the object being plotted. With enrichment now living in glyfun, the plotting for it has to be rebuilt somewhere, and glyvis is the obvious home.
◆ Prediction
Expect enrichment plotting to return once glyfun's result objects stabilize, since the visualizations were removed for want of an upstream producer rather than because users stopped needing them.
KLINK
2.5ANALYTICS
Forensic kinship testing with linked STR markers, now peer-reviewed and taking data from anywhere.
◆ Current state
KLINK is a Shiny application and R package for kinship testing that accounts for linkage between STR markers, rather than treating all markers as independent. The built-in genetic map covers 50 common STR markers, pairs them dynamically after data loads, and lets the user set the maximum distance at which a pair counts as linked. Custom marker maps can now arrive as Excel files including KLINK's own download files, and a paper describing the tool was published in FSI:Genetics in 2026.
◆ Where it's heading
The direction is from fixed panel toward general instrument. Hard-coded linkage pairs gave way to dynamic pairing, the built-in map grew from 18 to 50 markers, the map itself was then moved out to the norSTR package, and the app now accepts custom maps in several file formats and decimal conventions. Method capability tracks the upstream pedsuite rather than KLINK itself: special lumping in pedprobr and pedmut is what allowed complex mutation models in common pedigrees, and the newest release pins pedtools 2.11.0 and pedprobr 1.1.0 for faster likelihoods and better handling of looped pedigrees. Much of the remaining work is unglamorous casework ergonomics, replacing stray Norwegian text in Excel output, controlling table heights, fixing karyogram colours.
◆ Prediction
With the map externalised and custom maps loading from multiple formats, the likeliest next step is broader marker-panel coverage through norSTR rather than changes in KLINK itself. Method gains should continue to arrive as pedprobr and pedmut version bumps.
Alternatives to glyvis and KLINK
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 glyvis or KLINK.
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.
forrel
forrel is getting faster at the simulations forensic kinship work actually spends its time on.
pedFamilias
pedFamilias exists to read one legacy file format, and it has that job nearly finished.
See all glyvis alternatives → · See all KLINK alternatives →
Recent activity from glyvis and KLINK
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 12d agoKLINKExcel marker maps, more robust map loading, and a published paper
- 1mo agoglyvisDocs recommend the new SE containers
- 1mo agoglyvisplot_logo() detects glycoproteomics across both containers
- 1mo agoglyvisPlots accept SummarizedExperiment; enrichment plots removed
- 3mo agoglyvisStale WGCNA and clustering autoplot methods removed
- 3mo agoKLINKIn-app help pages, a mutation-model setting, and clearer controls
- 6mo agoglyvisDependencies move to the r-universe repository
- 7mo agoglyvisplot_logo() fetches UniProt sequences automatically
- 1y agoKLINKComplex mutation models become usable via upstream special lumping
- 1y agoKLINKDownload fix for XML initials containing hyphens
- 1y agoKLINKUnlinked report picks the higher-PIC marker from each pair
- 2y agoKLINKMarkers pair dynamically against a 50-marker map, replacing hard-coded pairs ⚡
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between glyvis and KLINK?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. KLINK 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 glyvis better than KLINK?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. KLINK 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 glyvis?
Top glyvis alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "glyvis alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/glyvis for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to KLINK?
Top KLINK alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "KLINK alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/klink for the full list with editorial commentary on each.