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mizer vs tern.mmrm

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

mizer vs tern.mmrm: at a glance

Featuremizertern.mmrm
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score5.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themessize-spectrum-modelling, marine-ecology, numerical-methods, extension-frameworkpharmaverse, mmrm, tabulation, maintenance
Last editorial update6h ago1h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

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.

Read the full mizer trajectory →

What is tern.mmrm?

An MMRM tabulation package that has published nothing since its 2024 CRAN releases.

tern.mmrm wraps mixed models for repeated measures into the tern tabulation and plotting layer used by teal clinical modules. The visible history ends with three CRAN releases in mid-to-late 2024; before that the feed carries only automated version bumps from 2022, three of which have just been backfilled into the record. The most recent substantive change adds axis limit arguments to the LS-means plot.

Read the full tern.mmrm trajectory →

mizer vs tern.mmrm: editorial side-by-side

M
mizer
ANALYTICS
5.0

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.

T
tern.mmrm
ANALYTICS
0.0

An MMRM tabulation package that has published nothing since its 2024 CRAN releases.

◆ Current state

tern.mmrm wraps mixed models for repeated measures into the tern tabulation and plotting layer used by teal clinical modules. The visible history ends with three CRAN releases in mid-to-late 2024; before that the feed carries only automated version bumps from 2022, three of which have just been backfilled into the record. The most recent substantive change adds axis limit arguments to the LS-means plot.

◆ Where it's heading

Content per release is thin and largely organisational: a maintainer change, replacing scda with random.cdisc.data in vignettes, and adapting to new {mmrm} versions. The package appears to be in maintenance, tracking its upstream dependency rather than developing independently. The 2022 entries now visible are release-automation commits, not releases in any meaningful sense.

◆ Prediction

Nothing here signals new functionality; the realistic next event is another compatibility release when {mmrm} or {rtables} changes underneath it.

Alternatives to mizer and tern.mmrm

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 tern.mmrm.

See all mizer alternatives → · See all tern.mmrm alternatives →

Recent activity from mizer and tern.mmrm

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

  1. 15d agomizerpkgdown index fix for a man page added after the 3.2.0 build
  2. 25d agomizerParameter assignment rebuilds derived rates; extensions compose in any load order
  3. 1mo agomizerOpt-in second-order accurate scheme in the size variable
  4. 2mo agomizerDiffusion enters the McKendrick-von Foerster equation, ending a two-year gap
  5. 1y agotern.mmrmAxis limits added to the LS-means plot
  6. 2y agotern.mmrmMaintainer change and scda replaced in vignettes
  7. 2y agotern.mmrmCRAN 0.3.0 release, mostly workflow housekeeping
  8. 2y agomizerExternal encounter rate, and a split between given and calculated parameters
  9. 3y agomizerw_inf renamed to w_max to separate maximum size from von Bertalanffy asymptotic size
  10. 3y agotern.mmrmAutomated version bump to 0.2.1
  11. 3y agotern.mmrmPre-release branch merge
  12. 4y agotern.mmrmCI automation commit, no release content

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between mizer and tern.mmrm?

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 tern.mmrm?

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 tern.mmrm?

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