osmapiR
osmapiR is the rare API client that tracks its server's wiki revision numbers in the changelog.
Comparison · Analytics
mapsf vs sdtm.oak
A side-by-side editorial comparison of mapsf and sdtm.oak — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:r-package
mapsf vs sdtm.oak: at a glance
What is mapsf?
Thematic mapping in base R that finally got a theming system, then spent two years polishing legends.
mapsf produces thematic maps on R's base graphics device — choropleths, proportional symbols, typology maps, rasters, and their combinations, with legends, scale bars, north arrows, and insets as composable elements. Version 1.0.0 was the structural release, introducing a theming system that deprecated eight scattered styling arguments and adding mf_png() and mf_svg() export helpers plus alpha transparency across map types. The 1.1.x and 1.2.x line since then has been steady refinement: background and extent control on the drawing functions, decimal and thousands-separator control in legends, and label placement arguments.
What is sdtm.oak?
Two releases in, the open-source SDTM toolkit now covers the domains it originally excluded.
sdtm.oak builds SDTM datasets — the tabulation standard clinical trial submissions are filed in — from raw collected data. The 0.1.0 release shipped the mapping algorithm functions and derived-variable helpers but explicitly excluded DM, trial design domains, and several others. Version 0.2.0 closes the largest of those gaps, adding DM domain support via calc_min_max_date() and oak_calc_ref_dates(), plus generate_sdtm_supp() for supplemental qualifier domains.
mapsf vs sdtm.oak: editorial side-by-side
mapsf
0.0ANALYTICS
Thematic mapping in base R that finally got a theming system, then spent two years polishing legends.
◆ Current state
mapsf produces thematic maps on R's base graphics device — choropleths, proportional symbols, typology maps, rasters, and their combinations, with legends, scale bars, north arrows, and insets as composable elements. Version 1.0.0 was the structural release, introducing a theming system that deprecated eight scattered styling arguments and adding mf_png() and mf_svg() export helpers plus alpha transparency across map types. The 1.1.x and 1.2.x line since then has been steady refinement: background and extent control on the drawing functions, decimal and thousands-separator control in legends, and label placement arguments.
◆ Where it's heading
The package has been consolidating control into fewer, more consistent places. Legend handling moved out to the maplegend package in 0.8.0 and the per-element mf_legend_* functions were deprecated in favor of arguments on the map calls themselves; theming replaced ad-hoc style arguments in 1.0.0; and recent releases keep propagating the same argument vocabulary — bg, extent, leg_val_rnd, leg_val_dec, leg_val_big — across every function that should accept it. Determinism is a visible concern too, with 1.2.1 fixing a seed so mf_distr() point positions stop moving between runs.
◆ Prediction
The recent releases are almost entirely argument-parity work across existing functions, so expect that to continue until the vocabulary is uniform rather than any new map type appearing.
sdtm.oak
0.0ANALYTICS
Two releases in, the open-source SDTM toolkit now covers the domains it originally excluded.
◆ Current state
sdtm.oak builds SDTM datasets — the tabulation standard clinical trial submissions are filed in — from raw collected data. The 0.1.0 release shipped the mapping algorithm functions and derived-variable helpers but explicitly excluded DM, trial design domains, and several others. Version 0.2.0 closes the largest of those gaps, adding DM domain support via calc_min_max_date() and oak_calc_ref_dates(), plus generate_sdtm_supp() for supplemental qualifier domains.
◆ Where it's heading
This is the pharmaverse pattern of building submission tooling in the open, one domain class at a time, with the release history running through GitHub release-candidate tags before each CRAN submission. The direction is clear from the domain checklist: start with the mechanically simple Findings and Events domains, then work toward the ones with cross-dataset dependencies. DM and SUPP were the two that most often forced teams back to bespoke code.
◆ Prediction
The remaining exclusions from the 0.1.0 scope — trial design domains, SV, SE, RELREC and the EPOCH variable — are the obvious next targets, with EPOCH likely first since it depends on the reference dates 0.2.0 just added. Expect the same rhythm of release candidates ahead of each CRAN submission.
Alternatives to mapsf and sdtm.oak
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 mapsf or sdtm.oak.
ymlthis
ymlthis retired itself, naming Quarto as the reason it no longer needs to exist.
forestly
forestly built an interactive safety review tool, then taught it to produce submission-ready RTF.
pharmaverseadam
pharmaverseadam is the pharmaverse's test-data mirror, and it now covers neurology.
pkglite
pkglite's whole job is knowing which files in an R package are text — and it keeps getting better at guessing.
gMCPLite
gMCPLite exists to be gMCP without Java, and its releases guard that boundary rather than extend it.
See all mapsf alternatives → · See all sdtm.oak alternatives →
Recent activity from mapsf and sdtm.oak
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agomapsfLabel placement arguments and deterministic distribution plots
- 2mo agomapsfBackground and extent control across the drawing functions
- 7mo agomapsfPNG resolution control and legend number formatting
- 1y agomapsf1.0.0 introduces theming and deprecates eight style arguments ⚡
- 1y agosdtm.oaksdtm.oak v0.2.0 CRAN release ⚡
- 1y agosdtm.oaksdtm.oak v0.1.1 CRAN release
- 1y agomapsfPencil-sketch layers, ckmeans breaks, and border extraction
- 1y agosdtm.oaksdtm.oak v0.1.0 CRAN release
- 1y agosdtm.oakv0.1.0rc4: [skip vbump] 90 cran comments (#91)
- 2y agosdtm.oakv0.1.0rc2: Fix CRAN Comments (#84)
- 2y agosdtm.oakv0.1.0: [skip vbump] Bump version for cran release (#77)
- 2y agomapsfGraticule label display fix
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between mapsf and sdtm.oak?
Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. mapsf and sdtm.oak 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 mapsf better than sdtm.oak?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. mapsf and sdtm.oak 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 mapsf?
Top mapsf alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "mapsf alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/mapsf for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to sdtm.oak?
Top sdtm.oak alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "sdtm.oak alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/sdtm-oak for the full list with editorial commentary on each.