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Comparison · Infra & APIs
gofedf vs tabular
A side-by-side editorial comparison of gofedf and tabular — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
gofedf vs tabular: at a glance
What is gofedf?
A two-test goodness-of-fit package opens itself up to any weight function
gofedf runs goodness-of-fit tests built on the empirical distribution function. Its three releases trace a short, clean arc: existence in 2023, then p-values computed from an analytical solution of the integral equation in 2024, then in 2026 a user-supplied weight function that replaces the fixed menu. Cramer-von Mises and Anderson-Darling are now two points in a family rather than the two options.
What is tabular?
tabular went from clinical tables to complete TFL output in under two months.
tabular renders pre-summarised clinical tables, figures and listings to RTF, LaTeX, HTML, PDF, DOCX, Markdown and now Typst from one immutable verb pipeline, with no external SAS or Java runtime. It arrived in June 2026 as a CRAN submission candidate, added figure() a month later to cover the F in TFL, and has spent the 0.3.x line on speed, font resolution and toolchain diagnostics.
gofedf vs tabular: editorial side-by-side
gofedf
0.0INFRA · APIS
A two-test goodness-of-fit package opens itself up to any weight function
◆ Current state
gofedf runs goodness-of-fit tests built on the empirical distribution function. Its three releases trace a short, clean arc: existence in 2023, then p-values computed from an analytical solution of the integral equation in 2024, then in 2026 a user-supplied weight function that replaces the fixed menu. Cramer-von Mises and Anderson-Darling are now two points in a family rather than the two options.
◆ Where it's heading
The package is generalising rather than accumulating. Each release removed a hard-coded decision: first how eigenvalues are computed, offering both the analytical route and a matrix approximation; then which weight function defines the statistic at all. The maintainer's own framing in 1.1.0 is a contrast against what earlier versions would not let you do, which is the shape of a package aiming to become a framework.
◆ Prediction
An arbitrary weight function is the extensibility point that matters for EDF tests; what it lacks is calibration guidance, since Type I error behaviour was the argued benefit of the analytical eigenvalue route. Documented recommendations or diagnostics for user-chosen weights are the natural follow-up, though the entries do not announce one.
tabular
2.5INFRA · APIS
tabular went from clinical tables to complete TFL output in under two months.
◆ Current state
tabular renders pre-summarised clinical tables, figures and listings to RTF, LaTeX, HTML, PDF, DOCX, Markdown and now Typst from one immutable verb pipeline, with no external SAS or Java runtime. It arrived in June 2026 as a CRAN submission candidate, added figure() a month later to cover the F in TFL, and has spent the 0.3.x line on speed, font resolution and toolchain diagnostics.
◆ Where it's heading
The work is converging on backend parity — one spec should render the same wherever you emit it. Recent notes are almost entirely gap-closing between targets: bold column headers and page-width correction on LaTeX, cell margins on DOCX, group-separator blank rows re-expressed as discardable space so a page never ends on a stray gap, whitespace collapsing honoured on Typst. Diagnostics are keeping pace, with check_latex() probing through kpsewhich and check_typst() auditing the compiler and font chain.
◆ Prediction
With both toolchain checkers in place, the friction that remains is environmental rather than featural, and the notes point to further parity and packaging fixes rather than another backend. Whether Typst becomes the default PDF path instead of LaTeX is not something these notes settle.
Alternatives to gofedf and tabular
Other Infra & APIs 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 gofedf or tabular.
massProps
A mass-properties rollup spends a year on documentation and follows its sibling's API
writeAlizer
Six months of releases and not one of them touched the scoring models
samplr
A cognitive-science sampling package ships once, then goes quiet for eighteen months
stochvol
A Bayesian volatility sampler in its maintenance decade, paying for its own speed
midr
A black-box interpreter reaches CRAN, then learns multi-class and survival responses
See all gofedf alternatives → · See all tabular alternatives →
Recent activity from gofedf and tabular
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 28d agotabularTest-only fix for the CRAN macOS arm64 check
- 1mo agotabularTypst backend, check_typst(), and 11-24% faster rendering
- 1mo agotabularfigure() completes the T, F and L of TFL output ⚡
- 2mo agotabularFirst release: clinical table rendering without SAS or Java ⚡
- 4mo agogofedfUser-supplied weight functions for Cramer-von Mises tests ⚡
- 1y agogofedfp-values from an analytical eigenvalue solution
- 2y agogofedfFirst release of the gofedf package ⚡
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between gofedf and tabular?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. tabular 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 gofedf better than tabular?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. tabular 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 Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to gofedf?
Top gofedf alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "gofedf alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/gofedf for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to tabular?
Top tabular alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "tabular alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/tabular for the full list with editorial commentary on each.