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gtsummary vs n1qn1c

A side-by-side editorial comparison of gtsummary and n1qn1c — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Shared themes:r-package

gtsummary vs n1qn1c: at a glance

Featuregtsummaryn1qn1c
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesclinical-tables, analysis-results-data, regression-summaries, reproducible-reportingnumerical-optimization, quasi-newton, thread-safety, memory-safety
Last editorial update1h ago1h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is gtsummary?

gtsummary is quietly rebuilding itself around analysis results data, one table verb at a time.

gtsummary builds publication-ready summary, regression and survival tables for clinical and epidemiological work. Across this window it has grown in two directions at once: table composition primitives — splitting tables by rows and columns, stacking with labeled IDs, nested strata stacks, flexible merge columns — and a steadily deepening ARD layer, where tbl_ard_* functions, gather_ard() and the hierarchical table family expose the underlying analysis results data as a first-class object.

Read the full gtsummary trajectory →

What is n1qn1c?

A Fortran-descended optimizer got thread-safe, then found two flags that never worked.

n1qn1c is a quasi-Newton optimization routine translated from Fortran to C, used as a solver backend by the nlmixr2 modeling stack rather than called directly by most users. Its two 2026 releases are a concentrated safety pass: global state converted to thread_local, static removed from local variables in the translated code, integer overflow guards added, and memory leaks closed in the R callback wrappers — plus the gcc-asan and valgrind fixes CRAN asked for.

Read the full n1qn1c trajectory →

gtsummary vs n1qn1c: editorial side-by-side

G
gtsummary
ANALYTICS
0.0

gtsummary is quietly rebuilding itself around analysis results data, one table verb at a time.

◆ Current state

gtsummary builds publication-ready summary, regression and survival tables for clinical and epidemiological work. Across this window it has grown in two directions at once: table composition primitives — splitting tables by rows and columns, stacking with labeled IDs, nested strata stacks, flexible merge columns — and a steadily deepening ARD layer, where tbl_ard_* functions, gather_ard() and the hierarchical table family expose the underlying analysis results data as a first-class object.

◆ Where it's heading

The ARD work is the through-line. Table IDs exist so gather_ard() can return a named list; hierarchical tables gained per-level sorting and targeted filtering; ARD inputs are pre-processed so sorting applies to non-standard shapes. The package is becoming a structured-results engine that happens to render tables, rather than a renderer alone. Alongside that, 2.2.0 restored data pre-processing that 2.0 had removed after the reduced functionality hurt users — a maintainer willing to reverse a major-version decision.

◆ Prediction

Expect the hierarchical and ARD functions, introduced as a preview without a full deprecation cycle, to keep stabilizing toward a settled API rather than new table types appearing.

N
n1qn1c
ANALYTICS
0.0

A Fortran-descended optimizer got thread-safe, then found two flags that never worked.

◆ Current state

n1qn1c is a quasi-Newton optimization routine translated from Fortran to C, used as a solver backend by the nlmixr2 modeling stack rather than called directly by most users. Its two 2026 releases are a concentrated safety pass: global state converted to thread_local, static removed from local variables in the translated code, integer overflow guards added, and memory leaks closed in the R callback wrappers — plus the gcc-asan and valgrind fixes CRAN asked for.

◆ Where it's heading

The package is being hardened for use inside a parallel modeling framework rather than extended. The audit that produced the thread-safety work also surfaced two plain bugs in features users would have assumed worked: restart = TRUE left the mode at 2 instead of 3 because of a typo, and assign = TRUE referenced the wrong field name so the compressed Hessian was never written to the supplied environment. Earlier work points the same direction — the 6.0.1-12 function-pointer interface exists so nlmixr2est does not need resubmission when this package changes.

◆ Prediction

Expect further memory-safety and sanitizer work rather than algorithmic change; a Fortran-translated numerical core under CRAN's checking regime generates that kind of release indefinitely.

Alternatives to gtsummary and n1qn1c

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 gtsummary or n1qn1c.

See all gtsummary alternatives → · See all n1qn1c alternatives →

Recent activity from gtsummary and n1qn1c

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 2mo agogtsummaryTheme elements no longer evaluated by default
  2. 4mo agon1qn1crestart and assign flags fixed; sanitizer issues cleared
  3. 4mo agon1qn1cGlobal state converted to thread_local
  4. 8mo agogtsummaryARD strata functions and finer theme control
  5. 11mo agogtsummaryPer-level hierarchical sorting and labeled stacking
  6. 1y agogtsummaryTable splitting, ID labeling, and add_difference_row
  7. 1y agogtsummaryData pre-processing restored after the 2.0 removal
  8. 1y agogtsummarytbl_merge gains explicit merge columns
  9. 1y agon1qn1cFunction-pointer API decouples nlmixr2est releases

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between gtsummary and n1qn1c?

Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. gtsummary and n1qn1c 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 gtsummary better than n1qn1c?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. gtsummary and n1qn1c 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 gtsummary?

Top gtsummary alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "gtsummary alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/gtsummary-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to n1qn1c?

Top n1qn1c alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "n1qn1c alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/n1qn1c for the full list with editorial commentary on each.