constants
The R package for CODATA constants rebuilt its symbol table on NIST's naming so future updates stop being hand work.
Comparison · Analytics
mizer vs qqman
A side-by-side editorial comparison of mizer and qqman — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
mizer vs qqman: at a glance
What is mizer?
After two and a half years dormant, mizer shipped three major versions in seven weeks.
The size-spectrum fish modelling package sat at 2.5.0 from December 2023 until June 2026, then released 3.0.0, 3.1.0 and 3.2.0 in the space of seven weeks. The three releases divide cleanly: 3.0.0 added biological realism through a diffusion term in the McKendrick-von Foerster equation, 3.1.0 added an opt-in second-order numerical scheme in size, and 3.2.0 rebuilt how species and resource parameters are set. Backward compatibility is handled carefully throughout — the experimental scheme is off by default and the first-order path is byte-identical to previous versions.
What is qqman?
The Manhattan-plot package for GWAS results, finished and dormant since 2017.
qqman does two things: manhattan() and qq() plots for genome-wide association study results. Its six visible releases run from 2014 to a single 2017 packaging fix, and the last release with any user-facing change shipped in 2015. The archive is non-monotonic — a 0.0.0 tag published after 0.1.1 archives the pre-package standalone script — so version order and publication order disagree.
mizer vs qqman: editorial side-by-side
mizer
5.0ANALYTICS
After two and a half years dormant, mizer shipped three major versions in seven weeks.
◆ Current state
The size-spectrum fish modelling package sat at 2.5.0 from December 2023 until June 2026, then released 3.0.0, 3.1.0 and 3.2.0 in the space of seven weeks. The three releases divide cleanly: 3.0.0 added biological realism through a diffusion term in the McKendrick-von Foerster equation, 3.1.0 added an opt-in second-order numerical scheme in size, and 3.2.0 rebuilt how species and resource parameters are set. Backward compatibility is handled carefully throughout — the experimental scheme is off by default and the first-order path is byte-identical to previous versions.
◆ Where it's heading
Two threads run through the 3.x line. The first is numerical: diffusion, then higher-order accuracy in both size and time, with explicit warnings that enabling them shifts diagnostics and may require recalibration. The second is making the package composable — extensions now work regardless of load order, and parameter assignment propagates to the derived rate arrays instead of being silently discarded. That second thread reads as the more consequential one: the 3.2.0 notes describe scalar edits that previously vanished and now accumulate, which is the kind of fix that changes what published model configurations actually computed.
◆ Prediction
Expect the experimental second-order scheme to move toward default-on once recalibration guidance exists, and the patch line to keep absorbing the documentation and website gaps that 3.2.1 started on.
qqman
0.0ANALYTICS
The Manhattan-plot package for GWAS results, finished and dormant since 2017.
◆ Current state
qqman does two things: manhattan() and qq() plots for genome-wide association study results. Its six visible releases run from 2014 to a single 2017 packaging fix, and the last release with any user-facing change shipped in 2015. The archive is non-monotonic — a 0.0.0 tag published after 0.1.1 archives the pre-package standalone script — so version order and publication order disagree.
◆ Where it's heading
The real development window was 2014 to 2015. The 0.1.2 release did the substantive work, replacing the assumption that SNPs are evenly distributed across chromosomes and handing users control of axis limits, labels and log transformation; 0.1.3 then added annotation by p-value threshold and top-SNP-per-chromosome. After that the package stops. Notably, the archival 0.0.0 entry records that the original script had confidence intervals on QQ plots and richer highlighting than the released package ever regained.
◆ Prediction
With one packaging fix in the last decade, these entries support no prediction of further releases. The package reads as complete for its narrow purpose rather than abandoned mid-arc.
Alternatives to mizer and qqman
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 mizer or qqman.
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.rbmi
Reference-based multiple imputation tables, shipping only what CRAN checks demand.
tern.mmrm
An MMRM tabulation package that has published nothing since its 2024 CRAN releases.
Recent activity from mizer and qqman
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 15d agomizerpkgdown index fix for a man page added after the 3.2.0 build
- 25d agomizerParameter assignment rebuilds derived rates; extensions compose in any load order
- 1mo agomizerOpt-in second-order accurate scheme in the size variable
- 2mo agomizerDiffusion enters the McKendrick-von Foerster equation, ending a two-year gap ⚡
- 2y agomizerExternal encounter rate, and a split between given and calculated parameters
- 3y agomizerw_inf renamed to w_max to separate maximum size from von Bertalanffy asymptotic size
- 9y agoqqmanREADME image path fix for pandoc
- 11y agoqqmanAnnotate SNPs by p-value threshold or per-chromosome top hit
- 11y agoqqmanChromosome ticks stop assuming even SNP spacing; axis control opens up
- 12y agoqqmanArchival tag for the pre-package standalone script
- 12y agoqqmanVignette touch-up
- 12y agoqqmanZenodo archival tag, no code change
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between mizer and qqman?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. mizer is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 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 mizer better than qqman?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. mizer is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 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 Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to mizer?
Top mizer alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "mizer alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/mizer-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to qqman?
Top qqman alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "qqman alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/qqman-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.