qqman
The Manhattan-plot package for GWAS results, finished and dormant since 2017.
Comparison · Analytics
hexfont vs tern.rbmi
A side-by-side editorial comparison of hexfont and tern.rbmi — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
hexfont vs tern.rbmi: at a glance
What is hexfont?
A GNU Unifont packager whose real work is making a huge font load fast.
hexfont ships GNU Unifont's hex bitmap files to R as bittermelon font objects, covering the full Unicode range. The last two releases were about load cost and portability: a user-level cache for precompiled fonts, then making that cache read-only by default so nothing is written unless asked. The font data itself tracks Unifont v16.0.02.
What is tern.rbmi?
Reference-based multiple imputation tables, shipping only what CRAN checks demand.
tern.rbmi renders the output of {rbmi} reference-based multiple imputation analyses into tern tables for clinical reporting. Its three most recent releases exist to satisfy CRAN: restricting vignette builds to gcc, adding V8 to Suggests, and a plain resubmission. No user-facing functionality has changed in the visible window, and the three older entries now backfilled are version-bump automation.
hexfont vs tern.rbmi: editorial side-by-side
hexfont
0.0ANALYTICS
A GNU Unifont packager whose real work is making a huge font load fast.
◆ Current state
hexfont ships GNU Unifont's hex bitmap files to R as bittermelon font objects, covering the full Unicode range. The last two releases were about load cost and portability: a user-level cache for precompiled fonts, then making that cache read-only by default so nothing is written unless asked. The font data itself tracks Unifont v16.0.02.
◆ Where it's heading
Each release does two things — resync with a newer GNU Unifont and shave the cost of using it. The performance thread has been the more consequential one, moving from the ucp argument that restricts which code points get read, to a full precompiled cache. Version 1.0.0 also walked back the R 4.1 pipe to keep the package usable on R 4.0.
◆ Prediction
Future releases most likely follow GNU Unifont's own version cadence, with occasional cache or loading refinements.
tern.rbmi
0.0ANALYTICS
Reference-based multiple imputation tables, shipping only what CRAN checks demand.
◆ Current state
tern.rbmi renders the output of {rbmi} reference-based multiple imputation analyses into tern tables for clinical reporting. Its three most recent releases exist to satisfy CRAN: restricting vignette builds to gcc, adding V8 to Suggests, and a plain resubmission. No user-facing functionality has changed in the visible window, and the three older entries now backfilled are version-bump automation.
◆ Where it's heading
This is a thin adapter package and behaves like one — it moves when CRAN or an upstream dependency forces it to. Between 2022 and 2024 the feed shows only version bumps, and the 2025 releases are packaging concerns rather than analysis changes. The newly surfaced 2022 entries reinforce rather than change that reading.
◆ Prediction
Expect the next release to be triggered by a CRAN check failure or an {rbmi} update rather than by new tabulation features.
Alternatives to hexfont and tern.rbmi
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 hexfont or tern.rbmi.
constants
The R package for CODATA constants rebuilt its symbol table on NIST's naming so future updates stop being hand work.
austraits
The R client for AusTraits spends its releases chasing the dataset it reads.
ggdemetra
A ggplot2 layer for seasonal adjustment output, filling in one plot type at a time.
fossilsim
A fossil-record simulator that quietly grew a trait-evolution engine.
tern.mmrm
An MMRM tabulation package that has published nothing since its 2024 CRAN releases.
See all hexfont alternatives → · See all tern.rbmi alternatives →
Recent activity from hexfont and tern.rbmi
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1y agotern.rbmiVignette built only under gcc
- 1y agohexfontCache becomes opt-in to write; restores R 4.0 support
- 1y agotern.rbmiV8 added to Suggests
- 1y agohexfontPrecompiled font cache cuts load time
- 1y agotern.rbmiCRAN resubmission with dependency and workflow updates
- 2y agohexfontUnifont v15.1.04 and a version accessor
- 3y agohexfontAdds code-point filtering and combining-glyph lookup
- 3y agotern.rbmiAutomated release commit for 0.1.1
- 4y agotern.rbmiDevelopment version bump to 0.1.0.9004
- 4y agotern.rbmiCI automation commit, no release content
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between hexfont and tern.rbmi?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. hexfont and tern.rbmi 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 hexfont better than tern.rbmi?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. hexfont and tern.rbmi 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 hexfont?
Top hexfont alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "hexfont alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/hexfont-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to tern.rbmi?
Top tern.rbmi alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "tern.rbmi alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/tern-rbmi for the full list with editorial commentary on each.