tidytlg
A tables-listings-graphs package that reached CRAN and then went quiet.
Comparison · Analytics
graphicalMCP vs r2rtf
A side-by-side editorial comparison of graphicalMCP and r2rtf — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
graphicalMCP vs r2rtf: at a glance
What is graphicalMCP?
graphicalMCP is a narrow statistical tool being hardened rather than grown.
graphicalMCP implements graphical multiple comparison procedures — the method used to control family-wise error across several endpoints in a clinical trial. The package moved under the openpharma organisation in 0.2.6, picked up Hochberg tests and internal validation in 0.2.8, and its most recent release fixes a case where graph testing by closure disagreed with the rejection-based path. Releases are roughly annual and short.
What is r2rtf?
The clinical-report table engine learned Chinese, then learned to leave RTF entirely
r2rtf builds the RTF tables, listings and figures that go into clinical study reports, and its recent releases have been about widening who and what it can serve rather than changing how tables are composed. The 1.2.0 release added internationalization — a SimSun font path for Chinese characters plus hyphenation control — and 1.3.0 followed with write_docx() and write_html(), turning the LibreOffice conversion the package had documented into exported functions.
graphicalMCP vs r2rtf: editorial side-by-side
graphicalMCP
0.0ANALYTICS
graphicalMCP is a narrow statistical tool being hardened rather than grown.
◆ Current state
graphicalMCP implements graphical multiple comparison procedures — the method used to control family-wise error across several endpoints in a clinical trial. The package moved under the openpharma organisation in 0.2.6, picked up Hochberg tests and internal validation in 0.2.8, and its most recent release fixes a case where graph testing by closure disagreed with the rejection-based path. Releases are roughly annual and short.
◆ Where it's heading
The changelog reads as a package settling into reference-implementation status: procedure coverage widened once, then the work turned to proving the two computational routes through the same graph agree with each other. That agreement is the whole promise of this kind of tool, since the closure-based calculation is the definition and the rejection-based one is the fast path everyone actually runs. The openpharma move points the same direction — shared maintenance rather than a single author's project.
◆ Prediction
The entries show no feature roadmap, only correctness and validation work, so the next release is most likely another consistency or precision fix rather than a new procedure.
r2rtf
0.0ANALYTICS
The clinical-report table engine learned Chinese, then learned to leave RTF entirely
◆ Current state
r2rtf builds the RTF tables, listings and figures that go into clinical study reports, and its recent releases have been about widening who and what it can serve rather than changing how tables are composed. The 1.2.0 release added internationalization — a SimSun font path for Chinese characters plus hyphenation control — and 1.3.0 followed with write_docx() and write_html(), turning the LibreOffice conversion the package had documented into exported functions.
◆ Where it's heading
Two threads run through the window. One is output reach: RTF remains the composition target, but the artifacts that come out of it now include DOCX and HTML, and page numbering can be made table-relative across multi-page tables. The other is durability under a moving R and font stack — the ANSI/Unicode converter was rebuilt, the LaTeX mapping table generated from code rather than shipped as sysdata, unlist() usage fixed for R 4.5, and graphics-device leaks that produced stray Rplots.pdf closed off.
◆ Prediction
Having exported DOCX and HTML conversion, the likely next step is filling in what those formats lose relative to RTF — pagination and footnote fidelity are the obvious gaps. The i18n path currently covers Chinese only, so additional font families are the other plausible direction.
Alternatives to graphicalMCP and r2rtf
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 graphicalMCP or r2rtf.
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.
gigs
gigs redesigned its whole conversion API for rOpenSci, then spent three releases getting the docs to build.
riem
A weather-data client that keeps rewriting its HTTP layer while slowly tightening its API.
See all graphicalMCP alternatives → · See all r2rtf alternatives →
Recent activity from graphicalMCP and r2rtf
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 4mo agographicalMCPClosure-based and rejection-based graph tests now agree
- 7mo agor2rtfDOCX and HTML output become exported functions
- 11mo agor2rtfChinese character support arrives via an i18n font path ⚡
- 1y agographicalMCPHochberg tests and internal validation added
- 1y agor2rtfText colour fixed for figures encoded into RTF
- 1y agor2rtfFootnote handling fixed for R 4.5.0
- 1y agor2rtfUnicode converter rebuilt and mapping table made inspectable
- 1y agographicalMCPRepository moved to the openpharma organisation
- 2y agographicalMCPCRAN resubmission housekeeping
- 2y agographicalMCPFirst release of the graphical MCP implementation
- 2y agor2rtfUTF-8 conversion fix and LibreOffice 7.6 support
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between graphicalMCP and r2rtf?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. graphicalMCP and r2rtf 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 graphicalMCP better than r2rtf?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. graphicalMCP and r2rtf 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 graphicalMCP?
Top graphicalMCP alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "graphicalMCP alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/graphicalmcp for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to r2rtf?
Top r2rtf alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "r2rtf alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/r2rtf for the full list with editorial commentary on each.